There's Something About Yui
by thatguywhowrote
Summary: And whatever it was exactly, Hachiman couldn't tell for now. But perhaps in time he would find the answer... [Hachiman x Yui]
1. Deeper Inside Her (Omake)

_**A/N:**_ _Good day everyone. It's been a while since I posted anything, hasn't it? Time sure flies when real life is kicking your butt around._

 _It's been nearly two years since the last episode of Oregairu Zoku aired, and yet there's not enough stories in the fandom for this pairing. I myself have always wanted to write even just one fic for these two..._

 _...so I did._

 _I know there are others that are a collection of shorts like this, but I don't fare well with multi-chapter stories... As for other pairings I may write for them, and in case that happens either I edit the title and summary for this or create a new one for all the other ones. My mind is currently betting on the former._

 _Special thanks for_ _ **Kaisaeren**_ _for being a great friend and the betareader for this story._

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ _I don't own Oregairu._

 _ **Edit:**_ _This was originally intended to be a collection of drabbles but ended up being a single story of its own at some point, hence this chapter is NOT related to the others. Thank you for a guest review that raised this concern. Props to **OmegaEleven** for his suggestion to rename this chapter._

* * *

At the Hikigaya household, inside his room and on his bed lied a certain girl with pink hair, a portion of it tied to a bun. Her glazed eyes were transfixed upon him, seemingly eager and yearning. The fair complexion of her cheeks were tinted with a bright red blush, while her lips appeared soft and moist, quivering ever so slightly in what could possibly be nervousness and anticipation.

The way she laid on the bed on her side was dangerous, he thought. Hachiman couldn't move a muscle, stunned at the breathtaking sight before him. His rotten dead fish eyes wouldn't stop tracing the curves of her body, taking their precious time to stop and ogle certain rounded areas...

"H-Hikki..."

Being called brought him back to reality, faced to Yui's expression of growing embarrassment. The way his name was spoken with her cracking, shaking voice brought about a strange sensation that made his heart race. Hachiman felt his face heat up in unison with hers, whom seemed to have grown restless at waiting for him.

"Y-yeah, I'm on it..."

With his tool in hand he approached the young girl and settled beside her, shutting her eyes at the close proximity. Carefully with his free hand, he reached for a portion of her hair and tucked it behind her ear.

"-!" The sensation of his touch caught her by surprise, but she was quick enough to cover her mouth to prevent the small yelp that nearly escaped her lips. Her body shuddered in response, with her ear growing hotter and redder than ever.

"D-d-don't do that! I'm t-ticklish there..."

"S-sorry."

Giving Yui some time to relax first, she nodded her head as a cue for him to continue. She used her hand to open up her entrance properly for him, and as Hachiman aimed himself towards her he gave her one last look for approval.

"Are you sure you want me to do this? I mean, you can still say no."

"It's okay, I want this and I'm sure of it. Also," she averted her gaze from him, the redness of her face returning. "I-if it's going to be you, then I'm fine. I trust you after all, Hikki."

There was a small smile on her lips as she said that last line, causing him to form one himself. He had mixed feelings about it though, a strange sort of bliss that she would place such trust on him, and fearful dread that he would one day ultimately break his own personal vow on nice girls.

 _'Good grief,'_ he thought, shaking his head. _'Her smile is like an infectious disease.'_

"Alright then, I'm going in."

The heavy tension in the air returned as he positioned himself for his entry, and with great precision he slowly made his way inside her.

"Kya-!" A short squeal slipped out before she could cover her mouth. Only the tip had just dipped in and yet she appeared to be unable to bear any more of it. Hachiman once more paused as he waited for Yui to motion him to continue, paying heed to her situation since she had mentioned beforehand that this was her first time.

...well, it was his first time too.

"Are you alright? Did it hurt? And please, don't make those unnecessary noises. It's uncomfortable."

"I-I can't help it, okay!? I'm kind of s-sensitive there! S-so..." She didn't need to say anything else as her eyes blinked hard. Without further ado, Hachiman took a deep breath and proceeded with the task at hand.

Beads of sweat formed on his forehead as he fiddled around inside her, taking note of her reactions upon each movement and memorizing those that did not yield negative results. It was rather painstaking, but seeing as she had asked for him personally then who was he to decline?

"Right t-there..." Yui finally spoke up after a bout of nothing but muffled sounds, biting her lip as he once more hit the right spot. "Y-yes, that's the one."

"Okay, just relax and let me do the work." He reassured her, to which she buried her face upon his shirt in response. He could feel how tight her grip on him was, her shaking hands yanking on the fabric while she pressed herself against his chest.

He began to move again, letting his instrument graze upon her inner walls. This time Yui was no longer able to hold back and released a few moans that warranted him to be the one to feel embarrassed. Her breathing had grown ragged and labored, and he swore that he could somehow hear her mutter his name softly under her breath.

"I'm almost done, just hang on for a little more." He tilted her a bit, making her hole parallel to the bed. As he plunged himself deeper, it only took a few moments before it finally came out.

"And we're done." He sighed in relief, wiping his tool clean with the small piece of cloth he had set aside. As Yui sat up shakily, she glanced at the stain from their activities and blushed at the sight.

There was a decent amount of earwax, maybe a bit too much for a girl to have.

"You know, I still don't get why you didn't just ask Yukinoshita for help."

"It's not like I could ask her for a favor on something like this. She's all classy and rich, I doubt she'd be comfortable with it..."

"Oh? And what does that make me then? For being okay with this sort of stuff?"

"U-umm, sorry... I didn't mean it that way." She fidgeted with the hem of her skirt as per usual. "A-anyway, thank you again Hikki..."

"Don't mention it." He nonchalantly replied, putting away the ear pick and the cloth. "Though you could have at least toned down on the lewd moaning."

"W-w-w-what are you saying?! I-I wasn't moaning or anything!"

"Yeah, you were. Heck, with the way you were making noises people who would have heard us might think we're having se-"

"Ahhh!" Yui cut him off with a scream, quickly reaching for her bag and swinging it straight at his face repeatedly. "Meanie! Pervert! Hachiman!"

"Oi, knock it off."

She didn't mean to hurt him even if he had almost spouted some things she would rather not hear right now. Her blows weren't strong enough to cause harm, much like how she had chosen light things to throw at him during the time he and Yukino helped her in baking.

When Yui's assault had ceased, Hachiman harbored a displeased expression on his face. In return she flashed him one of her brightest, most genuine grin, one that definitely succeeded into infecting him to smile back. After sharing a laugh, her thoughts wandered back on the barrage of insults from the earlier conversation and single fact echoed in her mind...

 _'I got to say his name.'_

Unbeknownst to the two, a certain imouto had been quietly eavesdropping on them all this time. After hearing the name-calling that had been thrown once again to her beloved Onii-chan, she pulled her ear away from the door and wiped the tears and nosebleed onto her sleeve.

"Stupid Gomi-chan," she shook her head, happy nonetheless for their interaction.


	2. Sweeter The Second Time Around

_**A/N:**_ _Holy shit I got a lot of reviews! Thank you to everyone who had given one, I am very happy to hear, err... read your comments._

 _As for updates, I may take time as I'm rather busy with life and some betareading on the side. Also the plot bunnies in my head are in a riot, they fight and struggle to be written so I am having trouble at times to concentrate on finishing one._

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ _I don't own Oregairu._

* * *

In this world, there were things that could never be together no matter what. Oil and water, science and religion, good and evil, those were only to name a few as the list goes on.

Hachiman knew of these and he was completely fine with them. The two were too different to be together, and it was only the natural order of things that they be separated. Such was the rule that had been before, now and always will be, and no force in existence could ever change that fact.

In short, it just wasn't possible.

With this in mind he glanced over towards the girl nearer to him, whom had been happily mashing the buttons on her flashy phone for the past hour at light speed. Her face harbored a longing look, a smile that seemed to tell today held a special meaning for her, something promising that she had been eagerly looking forward to.

Sigh.

Hachiman exhaled a great deal of air, hoping it could somehow carry away some of the hopelessness weighing on his shoulders as he watched Yui silently from his seat. Tried as he might, it was just truly not meant to happen with her. A solid fact it was, one that was undeniably true, and there was nothing he could do about it except frown and imagine a parallel world of what-ifs, one that could have given him a different fate...

Alas, the truth was indeed cruel and unforgiving: Yui and baking just couldn't mix together.

To explain the predicament he was now in, it all happened yesterday around the same time when they were hanging at the service clubroom after class. There were no requests received nor were people coming to knock at their door, save for a certain kouhai that had visited every now and then (and meddled with just about anything in his life, much to his chagrin).

While the lack of activities was something Hachiman and Yukino found to their liking, the same could not be said for the active teenager struggling with impatience between them. With a loud, exasperated sigh she successfully garnered the attention of the other two members.

"Is Hikigaya-kun troubling you again, Yuigahama-san?" Yukino was the first to react, looking up from her book.

"Oi, wait a minute. Why did you assume it was I who was the cause of her distress? Let alone adding 'again' to your statement." Hachiman immediately rebutted, annoyed by the unnecessary maltreatment.

"No, it's not Hikki's fault this time." Yui defended him.

"'This time?' Stop adding insults to injury."

"Very well, what is it about then?" Yukino inquired, ignoring his protests.

"It's just that we're not getting any requests, it's kinda boring." She sighed once more, but recovered with a determined look in her eyes. "So I've decided!"

"Umm... Decided on what, exactly?" Hachiman asked.

"That I'll be making a request myself! And you two would be helping me out on it, of course. Eheh~"

"I see, just like the old times."

"Eh? How did you know I was going to ask for help on baking?"

At the moment, the air in the room suddenly grew heavy. The last word rang throughout the room and awakened an unnamed horror in their hearts. Hachiman and Yukino exchanged glances, gulping at the same time as they began to sweat at the foreboding question.

Yui, on the other hand, hadn't the slightest clue on the wordless communication that had transpired between the other two members.

"I beg your pardon Yuigahama-san, but did I heard right? Your request is to help you on... baking?"

"Yup!" The girl answered quickly with a grin, an ominous sight for the shaken girl.

"I-I see. Although I had never mentioned anything about it before you did." Yukino closed her eyes to gather her wits, spending a moment to come up with a solution to avoid her untimely demise. "I believe Hikigaya-kun would be more than happy to help you."

"Hey, what's this?" The boy detested, putting away the novel after hearing her response. "She asked for our help, if I remember correctly. And since there's only three of us here and she isn't be counted, then it's safe to assume that she meant the both of us."

"Rest assured I heard her properly that time." The Ice Queen had finally regained her composure, smiling at him. "But you see, at that time you were the one who gave the more favorable answer to her dilemma, weren't you?"

"What? Well yes, but I-"

"So wouldn't you agree that it would be more efficient to leave her request in your hands? I'm sure your solutions may not always be the best, but for this case it has already been proven that it was more successful than mine. I seldom accept defeat Hikigaya-kun, so this is quite the achievement for you. You ought to show more gratitude."

"Oi, don't you dare leave me alone on this."

"Don't say that. Think of it as me handling things here while you help her out. Isn't it much more convenient that way?" She flipped her hair, a glint of confidence in her eyes as she successfully averted a disaster. "You know me well to never spout falsehood. Don't you agree with me, Yuigahama-san?"

"U-umm, well I don't mind if it's just Hikki..." She fidgeted with her fingers, shyly looking down at her shoes.

"Then no more objections, meeting adjourned. Let us call it a day." The club president clapped her hands together. Hachiman turned to see that it was already time to go home and without having another chance for complaints, resigned himself to the fate that awaited him on the morrow. He packed his things, grabbed his bag and bid the girls farewell as he made his way out the door.

"Hikki!" Yui called out just as he was about to leave the room. The girl ran up to him and held her fist up for a bump.

"Uh... yeah?"

"Geez, you don't know this?" She lifted his hand and hit it with her own. "There, you do it like that. Anyway, good luck to us tomorrow!"

 _'Luck? We'll be needing a freaking miracle...'_ He thought, biting his tongue to avoid ruining her mood. He nodded and went on his way home, tormented by the upcoming events of the next day.

As a result, he barely got any sleep that night.

Yawn.

"Hikki, are you alright? You look terrible..." He opened one eye to see the pink-haired girl studying him worriedly. "Your eyes are also... deader than usual."

 _'Anyone on a death row would look the same.'_

"Knock it off with my eyes, will you?" Hachiman rubbed the drowsiness away and stretched his arms. The hanging clock showed that the time drew nearer with every tick, which was a coincidence as he had just finished saying his prayers. "Anyway, shouldn't we head over there now?"

"Ah, right!" Yui pocketed her phone and slung her bag onto her shoulders, moving to his side as she tugged on his sleeve as their cue to leave. "We'll be off then Yukinon!"

"Do your best Yuigahama-san."

"Bye." He shot Yukino one last look before shaking his head. She only smiled at his misfortune as she watched him take off with Yui in tow.

Hachiman vowed he was sure to get her back for this.

Despite her earlier cheery mood, the usually talkative girl was now quietly making her way towards the Home Economics room with him. Their footsteps echoed along the hallways with her a few feet ahead of him, a setup they had been accustomed to.

It was easier for him, he had debated once when she had brought it up before, to slip away once other people she knew would give questioning looks whenever he was too close with her. His reason didn't satisfy her one bit, but she knew it was because of the confrontation with Sagami during the fireworks festival and he only meant her well, so she accepted it nonetheless.

The lack of students at the building and the orange tint of the setting sun filtering through the windows brought about a serene atmosphere, relaxing enough to even alleviate some his worries. His solace was short-lived however, and came to an abrupt end once Yui stopped to a certain classroom.

She slid the door open and went inside, with Hachiman following suit. He looked around the surroundings and remembered his first time here with them (as he would occasionally skip this class, believing that such household chores were done alone), how Yukino harshly criticized Yui during the first instance of their club's activities. While he expected her to lose hope from the bluntness of her words, he was dumbfounded to find it only served to drive her even more.

"Alright, let's get started!" Yui was already by one of the counters, tying her apron. Hachiman had been spacing out, still standing near the doorway when he came to.

"Umm, sure." He slid the door shut behind him and proceeded to her side, watching her carefully as she laid out the ingredients at the tabletop. After preparing the necessary utensils, she took a moment and eyed the items before her.

As if a light bulb appeared above her, she took some flour, baking powder and cocoa powder. Hachiman was about to speak but Yui had beat him to it; she grabbed the measuring cup and took the right amount for her needs.

"That was unexpected." Hachiman commented, watching the girl who was focused on her task at hand. "I thought you were just going to pour stuff in like before."

"I did some studying last night." She now held the strainer and was shaking it to sift the powder onto the bowl underneath. "It's just like preparing for a test."

"So you do study." He stated, earning him a pout from her. He apologized and dismissed it as a joke, urging her to return to her work.

Yui had been silent onwards, only the sound of her hands and the equipment filled the room as she slowly made progress. Hachiman fetched himself a nearby stool and watched the aspiring girl in her efforts.

To see her giving it her best was quite inspiring even for him, how she strived hard to improve herself for some reason she had yet to tell. He even jested in thought that he might give baking a try, and maybe he could provide better help to Yui...

"..."

He could envision it, the two of them laughing as they were trying to make a new pastry for themselves, with him suggesting to make a strawberry cream swirl on top of the cookie as a testament to her pink hair bun (because her idea of "dead fish eyes on sweets" aptly named "Hachi-pan" wouldn't be the most appetizing nor appealing item on the menu).

 _'Heh, stop insulting my eyes...'_

His vision blurred as he crept closer to falling asleep, the sounds she made were nothing but white noise as his consciousness started fading, the world following into darkness. But when her voice rang through his ears, he was immediately pulled back to reality.

"Here, try it." He half-opened his eyes to a girl with a wide grin in front of him, messy with stains on her apron and some on her face, holding out a bowl of the batter up to his view.

It was a chocolate brown, and the consistency looked fine. It exuded a sweet aroma that was definitely alluring, but the taste of her original works were still imprinted on his mind. He had second thoughts on giving it a taste but considering that was why he was here for, not doing so would defeat the purpose.

Her eyes were hopeful to hear good feedback, and as he was about to give it a try when he noticed her face...

"Hey, you got something on your..."

"Huh? Where?" With her hands full she couldn't wipe her face, and with Hachiman still lightly dazed from his sleepiness he nonchalantly reached out for her cheek and swiped the chocolate batter off.

"There, I got it for you. See?" He showed his index finger that had the brown stuff on it, but the girl simply looked away. Her cheeks were already burning a crimson hue from his sudden touch and she dared not show it to him.

"U-u-umm, t-t-thanks Hi-Hikki..." Her near inaudible voice shook as she stole a peek at him, unable to look at him directly. Before she could offer him a sample of her work once again, Hachiman beat her to it by tasting the batter on his finger.

"Not bad, the sweetness is a bit overpowering though." He commented, carefully relishing the flavor in his mouth. "But it's good, compared to the first ones you made. That's quite the progress."

His words fell on deaf ears as Yui now stared blankly at him, her face growing hot with a brighter shade of red as the scene of him wiping the stain from her cheek and licking his finger clean replayed itself in her head.

"Hey, did you hear me?" Hachiman waved his hand in front of her, regaining her senses. The girl frantically turned around and occupied herself with her baking, keeping her back towards him as she couldn't wipe the smile on her face.

"Y-yeah, I heard. E-ehehe..." She replied, her mind in a state of turmoil that she couldn't find it in herself to focus on what she was doing anymore. She laid portions of the batter on the tray and placed it inside the prepped oven, letting the machine work its magic.

She had set the oven to ten minutes to bake the cookies, so until then she was left idle. It would have been a good time to chat with Hachiman, had he not acted so boldly with her.

Her thoughts moved to him, and on how he had acted around her so casually. It was strange, that he was a loner since first year but he didn't seem to be affected by being with her at all. It was her instead, that found herself becoming flustered and stuttering on her words whenever he'd be a bit close.

It was then that she figured maybe he was just used to having her around, which was why he didn't seem to be conscious on his actions. And maybe he just never saw her in the same light...

"..."

The smile on her face disappeared in an instant at the thought of it, followed by a pang in her chest. She didn't expect for him to feel that way for her since she had been a part of the reason for his lonesome high school life. He also didn't seem to be the type of guy to be looking for it at the moment, or sometime near the future.

Still, even with those facts she couldn't help but be a bit hopeful, as he didn't interact much with other girls besides her and Yukino.

If only she could hear her call her by her first name, even once...

 _"...Yui..."_

Just like that, she thought, and once more if she was allowed to be selfish...

 _"..hama...Yui..."_

She closed her eyes and listened to his voice that seemed to be calling out her name. She had wanted more, but for now this was enough.

 _"...gahama! Yuigahama!"_

His voice seemed to grow louder on each instance, as if it was ringing outside her mind. It was then her nose picked something up...

"Smoke? ...ah-!" She snapped back to see the oven letting out dark puffs from as the smell of burnt bread filled her lungs. In a state of panic, she had rushed towards the oven and almost pulled the tray bare-handedly if it weren't for Hachiman pulling her back.

"Be careful, you nearly burned yourself!" He seized her by the arm, but he was too forceful and sudden that she was thrown off-balance as she was being pulled away. Losing her center of gravity as she spun to face him, everything happened so fast that she had ample time to react.

Hachiman tumbled backwards from her weight as she fell on him, landing on the floor on his back with a loud thud. Yui fell on top of him, his body serving as a cushion to her fall.

"I-I'm sorry Hikki, I-!" She cut herself off while in the middle of propping herself up using her arms when she realized their current position.

Her face was close to his, with their gazes meeting directly save for a few obstructing strands of hair from both of them. His breaths were audible at the distance, and she could smell a hint of the batter's sweetness from earlier. She was also straddling one of his legs, while his arms were laced around her waist as he had held her tightly from the fall.

The two remained silent, neither had moved nor said anything as time seemed to have stood still around them. They could feel their hearts racing, as if they were to beat out of their chests in an effort to cling to the other.

Almost a minute had passed when Hachiman finally mustered the courage to make the initiative, taking his hands off her waist to let Yui sit up straight. She then moved aside so that he could stand, then offered her his hand to help her get up.

Sensing the awkwardness in the air, Yui took the opportunity to check the cookies and assess the damage done. This time with oven mitts she took the tray and placed it on the countertop, they weren't entirely burned but parts of them were charred black.

"I shouldn't have used all the batter at once..." She sighed, evidently sad at the result of her hard work. As she was making her way towards the trash bin Hachiman stopped her.

"What are you doing? You can't just throw them away after all that."

"B-but look at them... They're ruined, I'm sure they won't taste good."

"You'll never know until you try." He insisted while breaking off a piece from one of the more decent looking samples, making sure to cool it off before carefully placing it in his mouth.

It crumbled easily at the lightest pressure of his teeth, and while the burnt portions were rather bitter the original sweetness of the batter was still present.

"Not bad." He said as the odd mix of flavors graced his tongue. "Kind of like coffee, bitter and sweet."

"Thanks." She smiled, glad at least that she had improved over the last attempt.

"Hey, what did I tell you? Don't throw them away." Hachiman took a plastic tray from the table and removed the lid, motioning her to put them inside. "It'd be a waste you know. Plus they're edible at least. And besides, don't you remember?"

"Huh? Remember what?"

"What I said before." He looked away, scratching his cheek as if it were embarrassing to repeat himself. "The end result doesn't entirely matter, as long as the boy knew the girl gave it her all he'd be grateful to accept them."

His words from the past were reborn anew in her mind, bringing a smile to her face as she complied with his gesture. She was sure that he wouldn't let her off if she didn't anyway.

Once he had packed the cookies, he helped Yui to put things away and clean up the mess. Time had flown by fast and it was just about to get dark when they had finished. Hachiman offered to escort her home, but she declined saying that she wouldn't want him to go home alone and later than it already was.

"Thanks Hikki, take care!" Yui waved him off as they went their separate ways, smiling at the sight of him walking away with the cookies clutched under his arm. Everything wasn't for naught, she thought, happy that things turned out the way did even with the accidental slip-up.

Once Hachiman had reached his house, he gave his customary greetings as he changed into his indoor slippers. His sister Komachi rushed to meet him by the door, worried sick from waiting for him to return but was glad that he was safe.

"Ah! Are those the cookies Yui-chan made? But..." Her eyes scanned the contents of the plastic container, noting the oddities in its appearance.

"Yeah, they got burned a bit, but not half bad actually." He pulled it out in plain view for her to observe. "Want one?"

"Umm, I think I'll pass. Though I'm surprised Onii-chan would take them home, I wonder why?" She elbowed his side with a smug grin.

"No particular reason."

"Oh? The time he could have spent at home went instead to helping out a girl, and even taking home what she made... That doesn't sound like you at all, Onii-chan. Are you perhaps in luuuv?"

"T-that's-!" He began to blush, making his little sister squeal in joy at his brother's potential candidate on his love life. He retreated to his room in order to avoid any more unnecessary questions, shutting the door behind him.

Finally at peace within the four walls of his safe haven, he gave one long stare at Yui's creation which were in his hands. Taking one out he gave it a bite, making sure to chew and taste the food carefully before swallowing.

As his thoughts were reaffirmed, he heaved a sigh of disappointment.

It seemed he was right at the first time, it could never happen. He had been hopeful though, but he was proven wrong. In the end, it just couldn't be.

 _'And I thought I could get back at Yukinoshita with her bad cookies...'_ He shook his head as he grabbed another and put it in his mouth.

 _'Oh well, more for me.'_

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ _I'm done, finally. Sorry for the delay, but to tell the truth, I know_ _NOTHING_ _about baking. Like, absolutely zero knowledge. I even had to do some research on it for the sake of this story... Shame!_

 _Also this is long. So like, that justifies the wait._

 _Thanks to_ _ **Betrayed Dreams**_ _, it was his idea for the whole "Yui's face has a batter stain and Hachiman wipes it clean and tastes it" thing. Give him his much-earned credit. And a cookie._

 _Until next time~_


	3. Unspoken Lies, Unheard Truths

_**A/N:**_ _I'm back. These past weeks had been rather busy for me, what with client meetings and audits at work... wait, I shouldn't be telling you those. And you probably don't care about it too. Meh._

 _Anyway, Chapter 3 is here. I hope I did well here, enjoy. And I edited a picture (removed some kanji on her hair) to use for the cover on this story (good thing I learned stuff on Photoshop during college). The moment I saw that image my mind told me " **use it. NOW.** "_

 _Also thanks again to_ _ **Kaisaeren**_ _, for being a great help while I was constructing this chapter._

* * *

"O-Onii-chan?! A-are you dying?"

He would have been touched with his eyes in tears from the concern his worried sister showed him, had it not been for the last part that seemed to be her jumping to conclusions.

"Shouldn't you be asking lighter questions like 'are you fine' before that?"

"But you look terrible! Well, not that you normally don't in the first place..."

"Oi, who are you? Yukinoshita? Could you please spare the insults for the moment I'm suffering here?"

It was the siblings' morning routine: whenever Hachiman wasn't out of his room by a certain time Komachi would have to go fetch him. Seeing he hadn't gone to the table for breakfast she decided to pay him a visit, only to find him bent over in his bed clutching his gut.

Apparently Yui's cookies were the ones to blame. While they were somehow palatable for him, he hadn't expected such a side-effect to appear the next day. Truly Yui's baking skills were a frightening force...

However his biggest regret was not the consumption of the food itself, but the fact that he had eaten _all_ of them, and now he had none left to hand over to Yukino for the sake of revenge.

' _Karma is such a bitch.'_

"I knew those cookies were bad news." Komachi sighed, shaking her head. "Still, they say love makes people act stupid. Geez Onii-chan, even if you're in love I know you ought to be better than that."

Hachiman was unable to retort when his sister had turned tail and left the room, who came back a few minutes later carrying a tray of food and water along with some medicine for his upset stomach. She helped him sit up carefully, avoiding to move him too suddenly and worsen his condition. She then sat on the edge of his bed and brought the tray to his lap, revealing a bowl of warm soup.

"Say 'aah~'!" She instructed as the spoonful in her hand awaited him.

"A-aah..."

He felt his cheeks burn, being spoon-fed like this by his own little sister to be a bit embarrassing. He was her onii-chan, he was the one who was supposed to take care of her and not the other way around. He felt as if his pride was being stepped on...

...well, not that he wasn't used to it.

"Does it taste good? Komachi made it with lots of love, my secret ingredient!"

She gave him a bright smile, her lips curved to reveal the small fang peeking at the corner of her mouth. There were hints of concern in her eyes, but more than that was a display of joy. Perhaps she was happy to be able to help him, to be the one to be relied on?

"Yes, it does. You did a great job." He raised his hand and pet her head, much to her delight as she squirmed at his touch.

After having his fill and taking the medicine with a glass of water, Komachi started to clean up and stood to leave when Hachiman called out to her.

"Hey," she spun around to face him, now just about to exit the door. "Thanks. I'll make sure to return the favor someday."

"There's no need for that, silly. Just get well soon, that'll be enough to repay me." She gave him a bright smile. "Kyaa~ that scored a ton of points in my book!"

No matter how many times she did that, it never failed to amuse him at how cute his sister could be. Whatever he did to deserve her, he would never know.

"Oh! Look at the time, I'm running late! I'll message your teacher that you wouldn't be able to come to school today, so rest easy for now. Bye Onii-chan!" And with that his imouto hurriedly left and closed the door behind her, leaving the loner to himself.

As it was still early and with Komachi saving him the trouble of excusing himself, he waited for the drug to work its magic. Once the pain had finally subsided enough to allow him to relax, he once more laid down on his bed, letting the peacefulness of his room lull him back to sleep.

* * *

She stood nervously by the door for around ten minutes, silent and unmoving. It was as if time had stood still for her, her consciousness stuck in limbo while her mind had been contemplating since on whether it was a good idea to have come here or not.

She had received a text from his sister that morning, telling her of how he had been feeling unwell and that he was unable to go to school for today. She need not ask the reason for she already had a hunch on what had caused his misfortune.

Guiltily she complied with her request, that she would pay a visit to the loner at their house and take care of him in the meantime. It turned out that coincidentally, Komachi had some matters at school to finish and that she would be returning home a little later than usual. She feared that her onii-chan wouldn't be able to handle things on his own and prepare his food by himself given his current state.

" _I'm counting on you, Yui-chan! Do your best!"_

Yui sighed. If it wasn't bad enough that she was to blame for Hachiman's suffering, she too was aware that no one else was in the house besides him. This mere fact made her face blush so she shook her head to dismiss the thought.

' _This is Hikki we're talking about! He's not like that.'_ She convinced herself, steeling her will as she had already made it this far. It wasn't exactly the point of no-return but turning back now would have put her efforts to waste. _'A-and besides...'_

She frowned as she slid the spare key she found hidden outside into the doorknob's hole, twisting it to unlock the door with a soft click.

' _It's not like he sees me as someone more than a friend anyway...'_

After removing her shoes and letting herself in she entered the living room, taking a seat on the sofa. She fished out her phone from her bag and sent a mail to Hachiman to let him know of her presence. Before she could put it down the device then buzzed as she received one from Komachi.

" _Yui-chan, I forgot! Could you please take care of Kamakura too? His food is in one of the cupboards, just pour some on his bowl and he'll eat it on his own. Thanks and good luck!"_

She went and looked around her surroundings, first at the living room then in the kitchen and sure enough, she spotted the feline atop the refrigerator in a cat loaf position, eyes glued to her every movement.

"Here, here Kama-kun." She motioned her hands to signal the cat to come near her. "Yui will take care of you."

The family pet only stared at her without making so much of a sound, closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

"Geez you're so stubborn, just like Hikki..." She sighed, then suddenly her face brightened up as if a light bulb had appeared over her head. Opening the cupboards she scoured the contents until finally finding the item she was searching for.

"There you are!" She pulled the bag of cat food out and placed it on the table. Looking back to the cat she saw that it was again awake, but its eyes were fixed upon the object that Yui had just taken out.

"..nya?" The soft, inquisitive meow told her that she had successfully won his attention. Granted the opportunity at hand, Yui proceeded to shake the bag to entice the creature.

"Here, Kama-kun! Would you like some?" The cat's ears twitched as it picked up the familiar rattling sound. She opened the bag and the aroma of the cat food filled the air, it was at this moment that Kamakura stood up and made his way down the fridge and onto the floor.

"Nyaa..." His eyes, pupils dilated, seemed to be pleading as he gazed into hers. She stood with the bag in her hands, looking back at him without a word. It was like there was a battle going on between the two and they were now neck and neck, with the next move being the deciding factor to determine the winner.

"..." She was holding her breath, focused on the entity in front of her to read his movements.

"..." His tail swayed side to side, like a whip that was being lashed about.

The staring contest had dragged on for no longer than a minute, and a victor was declared soon after once Kamakura walked towards her and began rubbing his furry body against her legs.

"Aww... You're so sweet!" She crouched and patted him, purring at her hand. Having her fill of his affection she proceeded to serve him a meal, which the cat quickly gorged down on.

Yui left Kamakura to eat in peace and returned to the living room, taking a seat back on the sofa and checking her phone. The screen lit up but only to show zero notifications, much to her disappointment.

' _Still no response...'_ She pulled up his contact and typed another message.

" _Hikki, are you awake? I'm knocking on your door in ten minutes if you don't respond. Please reply ASAP, I'm worried about you..."_

Her finger hovered over the button but could not find it in itself to press down. Her eyes skimmed through what she had typed again and again, furiously looking for something that she knew was just right under her nose. The pieces seemed to be slowly coming together in her mind as she finally confirmed what had been the cause of her hesitation.

She shook her head and mashed on the delete button, completely removing the last sentence and replacing it with another one that sounded more appropriate.

" _Hikki, are you awake? I'm knocking on your door in ten minutes if you don't respond. Sorry if I disturbed you."_

Once her mail had been sent successfully she let out another sigh. Looking at the time on her phone, there was still some leeway left before she would visit the loner in his room.

"Nya?"

In front of her now was a well-sated Kamakura, sitting up straight and watching her with his tail playfully swinging around. Yui patted her lap and he didn't hesitate to jump onto her, setting himself down into cat loaf mode once more. As her hand grazed his head going all the way down to his back and to the base of his tail, his eyes closed and his purr grew louder.

"You're stubborn and very lazy, and you're kind of quiet too, but once you warm up to someone you're actually really sweet, cute even." She giggled at his lack of activity as compared to Sablé, who was always bursting with energy. He never seemed to calm down whenever she was around, and the only time she found him quiet was whenever he was eating or sleeping.

He on the other hand, was quite the opposite of her dog. "You sorta remind me of Hikki..."

She could tell her face was turning red even without a mirror.

Kamakura nuzzled his head on her hand as she began to scratch his chin, she could now feel the strong vibrations of satisfaction from his throat. His eyes opened and looked at her, glazed as if he had just woken up from a good night's sleep.

"Well, at least you didn't have his dead-fish eyes hehe."

"Again with the eyes."

Yui's head shot up and was surprised to see the boy who looked like an exhausted zombie standing by the entryway to the living room.

"Hikki?!" Her sudden yell and movement scared the cat, rushing off of her lap and towards the kitchen. "Since when were you there? I-I never noticed you!"

"Oh, I guess I forgot to turn off my skill [Stealth Hikki]." Hachiman made his way towards the kitchen, leaning on the wall for balance. "Anyway, what brings you here?"

"Ah!" Yui recovered from her initial shock and grabbed her bag, then followed suit. When she reached him he was looking at the fridge's contents. "Komachi said she'll come home a bit late, so here. I brought you some food." Hachiman visibly tensed at her statement and stopped in his actions.

"R-really? Hehe... Y-you didn't have to-"

"No, no, I didn't make them." She took out a cup of instant noodles and a can of his favorite Maxx coffee, placing them on the table. "I don't know what to buy for you, and I don't want to get you sick again so..." She trailed off, fidgeting her fingers and unsure on what to say.

"I... guess this is okay." He took the noodles and began to prepare it, filling it with hot water and letting it cook for a few minutes. The sound of the water being expelled by the thermos echoed, reminiscent of a certain Ice Queen and her tea.

The two fell quiet afterwards, with Hachiman staring at the cover of his food while Yui leaning her arms on the chair near the table. It was weird how they were always together during club hours but right now there was an unexplainable air of awkwardness within the room.

They both took deep breaths, turning around at the same time to look towards the other and say something to break the deafening silence once and for all.

"Thanks."

"I'm sorry."

"Ah-!" They both uttered in unison. Yui motioned Hachiman to speak up but he waved his head and urged her to take the lead.

"U-umm, well... I'm really sorry for what happened to you because of my cookies." She bowed her head low.

"Don't be. It was my decision to eat them, and even if they were bad then I already told you. It'd be a waste to throw them away. They weren't inedible nor poisonous, or even breath-taking, but you also never intended to make them that way. So while you believe that you are at fault, I'm telling you right now to relieve any blame you're pinning on yourself."

She was at a loss for words to respond to his statement. He was right, and while she never really wanted to inflict any harm she still managed to. But here he was, asking her not to feel guilty about it.

"O-okay... Your turn then."

"Right, I just wanted to say thanks for... this." He gestured his hands to the pre-cooked meal in front of him.

"No problem." She smiled, making him do the same.

Strangely, the tension had dissipated and they now found themselves chatting idly, ending up with Hachiman's food getting overcooked. The noodles became a bit soggy but he ate them regardless, as he hadn't eaten anything since morning due to being asleep all day.

Seeing that he was the only one eating, he proposed to get her something but she respectfully declined the offer. She would be going home soon anyway and her mom would probably have prepared dinner by the time she reached her house.

Before she headed out, Yui called over Kamakura again. He cautiously approached her and let his guard down once the comfort of her hand graced his body.

"I'm surprised at how he's not trying to rip your skin off right now." Hachiman commended her as the cat laid dormant in her hands, cradling it like a baby. "You sure have talent on taking care of animals."

"I guess I'm just used to it." Yui set him down and shook off the fur that stuck to her uniform before she prepared to leave. Hachiman escorted her towards the doorway where she began putting on her shoes.

"Hey, want me to walk you home?"

"Huh?" She paused to study him, then shook her head. "Ah, there's no need, I'm fine by myself. Besides you don't feel well and I wouldn't want to trouble you any further. Thank you."

"Okay, then take care." He opened the door for her, Yui had taken only a few steps before she stopped in her tracks.

"It's easier to read an animal's thoughts because of their body language." She spoke, her back remained facing him. "Because of that I can easily tell, or at least make a good guess, on what they might be feeling or thinking. They may be simple creatures compared to humans, but aren't they amazing?"

He had nothing more than a hunch on what she was going on about. Yui turned her head to look at him from the corner of her eye.

"For all of my life that I've spent with animals, I've never seen one that lied..."

Hachiman saw a glimpse of what might have been sadness in her facial features. The sight lasted briefly however, and he was not able to confirm it as she had changed it into a smile.

"I'm sorry, I have to go now. Bye Hikki!" She bid farewell, the cheerfulness returning in her voice. He watched her walk away before disappearing from turning around a corner on the street.

 _Sigh._

"Nya?"

"Oh, hey there Kamakura." He petted the cat, but he ignored his hand and walked away from him instead. He followed the cat inside, finding him on the litter box getting ready to take care of some business.

"You show off to Yuigahama after she calls you sweet and cute, and this is what I get after taking care of you all these years? Great."

He waited for him to finish so he could clean up immediately afterwards, not wanting its smell to fill up the place.

' _Oh well, shit happens.'_

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ _Yui being insightful... not good?_

 _A prompt from_ _ **Mr.**_ _ **Deprecation**_ _, regarding Yui playing with Kamakura... although they didn't play much here. I had trouble trying to find out how he behaved, so this was what came out._

 _Thanks to_ _ **Pewdepew, OmegaEleven**_ _and_ _ **Betrayed Dreams**_ _as well! Such wonderful people that have been helping me out during my times of_ _laziness_ _writer's block._

 _Read and review please._


	4. Quite The Mouthful He Is (Omake)

_**A/N:**_ _Okay so this one just appeared during a conversation with_ _ **Pewdepew**_ _, he gave me his idea that he got from some anime (forgot the name) and I somehow ended up typing all these. So he deserves credit for this. Thanks a lot mate, this chapter is dedicated to you!_

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ _I don't own Oregairu._

 ** _Edit:_** _This chapter's events are **NOT** connected to the others. This was originally intended to be a collection of drabbles, however it changed into a single story at some point. Thanks to a certain guest review for pointing this out! __Props to **OmegaEleven** for his suggestion to rename this chapter._

* * *

' _What the hell am I doing? What the hell have I become...'_

His thoughts battered him with questions on his own actions as he once more found himself alone with her, the bubbly, pink-haired girl with the uncanny ability to yank him away from his lonesome.

It wasn't like he couldn't say no. But once he tried to resist her, she'd attack him with those puppy dog eyes and pout in a way that he swore his conscience would never let him rest.

"Hikki..."

His rotten eyes moved their gaze from the crack on the wall he convinced himself to be interesting towards the girl in front of him. Her fingers fidgeted while her hips swayed a little from side to side as if taunting him.

"Yeah?"

"P-please be gentle with me..." She had her head low, her eyes looking up to meet his. "Okay?"

There was definitely something wrong with the situation, and as much as Hachiman wanted to escape from it he found himself unable to do so. The redness of her cheeks, the glossiness in her eyes, the innocence in her voice...

There's something about Yui that somehow effortlessly beguiled him into submission.

"U-unn, sure." He scratched his cheek, averting his stare in an attempt to prevent the effects of her charms from deepening their hold on him. "So... what now?"

"We can start with this." Yui put the toilet lid down and sat on it. "It's easier if we do it like this... don't you think?"

"I-I guess..." He walked over towards the sink and washed himself first, making sure that he was clean before he began his task. Hachiman then walked over and stopped in front of Yui, the girl's face conveniently positioned at the right angle.

"Are you really sure you want to do this?"

"Yes, I'm sure." She spoke, almost like a whisper.

"Alright then." Hachiman used his one hand to hold her by the chin, the other to hold himself properly for her. "I'm gonna start now, okay? Let me do the work and just stay still for now."

After an affirmative nod she opened her mouth, and without further ado Hachiman complied with her request.

He thrusted in and out of her orifice in slow, calculated movements. Her face now blushed harder and she had eyes shut, unable to look at him out of embarrassment.

Hachiman kept up a serious facial expression, hiding the growing adoration he felt at the sight of the girl. He felt a slight sense of domination over her, with how he had her face in his hands as he slid himself inside and out her, again and again.

"Mmmmm..." She mumbled her words as her mouth was currently filled with him, however the look on her face told him that she was somehow enjoying this.

He made sure to cover every last bit of her, grazing the inner sides of her cheeks as well as her tongue. He felt the muscle move as it made contact with him, pushing him around as it seemed to coil around his length. The elicited response led him to explore further and upon doing so Hachiman accidentally pushed himself a bit too far inside, Yui's gag reflex kicked in and she began to cough, causing him to stop and pull out at the moment to let her recover.

"S-sorry." He apologized, seeing tears at the corner of her eyes.

"It's okay, c-carry on..." She said, almost as if pleading for him.

He resumed his work and this time he made sure to be gentler on the girl, to let her feel him upon each stroke that took them nearer to the finish line. Once he was almost done he let himself roll on her tongue one last time before pulling himself out, Yui covered her mouth with her hand as he made his exit.

"Okay, don't swallow it now." He instructed, watching her rush towards the sink.

"O-of course I won't! I'm not a child, you know!" She retorted with the mess still inside her mouth childishly, quite ironically.

After she spat out the white stuff that had accumulated inside her during their little activity, she went onto rinsing. Hachiman simply watched in silence as she finished herself, turning to face him and flashing her pearly whites, now clean and sparkling.

"I still don't get why I have to brush your teeth." He shook his head at her display, not giving her a chance to notice his amusement on her behavior. "You're not a child, you know."

"Uwaaaa!" Komachi squealed to herself as she still had her ear pressed upon the bathroom door. Her Hachiman senses tingled earlier after seeing him come home with Yui in tow, and as she had guessed she managed to secretly spy on their little ritual.

Not wanting to be caught eavesdropping she retreated towards her room immediately before the two officially ended their private moment.

"Great job Onii-chan! You just scored a lot of points in Yui-chan's book!"

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ _Komachi seems omnipresent... and omniscient. One word away from being a god there._

 _Something short to rinse the taste of my other one-shot from my mouth._

 _Again, thanks to_ _ **Pewdepew**_ _for his idea!_


	5. Revelations of Rhyme or Reason

_**A/N:**_ _My dearest readers, I sincerely apologize for not updating this sooner. I was sidetracked in writing a one-shot, got sick with the flu and stuff at work piled up..._

 _...right. Screw my rambling and on with the story._

 _Thanks to those who gave reviews, especially the feedback, both for this one and_ _ **Seclusion**_ _. I will keep them in mind! :)_

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ _I don't own Oregairu_

* * *

"So, Hikigaya..."

A white puff of smoke was blown carelessly towards his face, eliciting a cough from Hachiman as its bitter essence stung his nostrils and filled his lungs. Waving his hand to clear up the foggy mess he was once more met by the displeased face of his homeroom teacher.

"I bet you're dying to tell me all about why you decided to sleep on my class?"

He had opted to complain about the health hazards of secondhand smoke, however the current situation demanded that he stay quiet as it would be a greater threat to his well-being if he accidentally invoked the wrath of the woman before him. It was also a fact that his personal opinions were of the least importance – both for this time or any.

Hachiman gulped and tried his best to gather his wits, knowing that the slightest of blunders could warrant a swift fist to reach his midsection within a blink of an eye.

"U-umm, you see Sensei," he started cautiously. "I-I stayed up late last night thinking about... s-stuff."

"... _stuff._ " Her iteration was filled with annoyance as she rubbed the expended cigarette on the ashtray. "Care to elaborate further on what this 'stuff' is all about?"

Stuck in the sudden death round, he wracked his brain even more to come up with the best answer to save his skin, his self-preservation instincts triggering.

"Club!" He exclaimed, waving his hands in front of him to dispel the sense of foreboding. "Y-yeah, I was up all night thinking about club, a-and..."

"Hmm, club? What are you..." Shizuka's expression changed into a confused one as she trailed off, pondering over his response before she seemed to have been struck by a sudden realization. "Oh... _OH._ You meant _that._ " She remarked with a smug grin and a wink.

"Sure, let's go with that!" He quickly seconded, a bit in disbelief that he had narrowly escaped a painful punishment. "I-I mean, exactly what you said!"

"Alright, I get it." The teacher sighed. "If that's the case then I guess I can at least forgive you... but just this once." She stood up and jabbed his arm. "Geez Hikigaya, I never would have thought you to undergo this problem so soon. Still, that doesn't mean I'll let you go that easily for slacking off, so as retribution for your misdeed I want you to do me a favor..." There were sounds of rustling paper as Shizuka went to her work desk, and upon returning she handed him a sheet.

"This is..." Hachiman studied the paper and saw that it was a familiar exam, already checked and had received just a few points away from a passing score. Looking at the upper left portion he saw the name and was honestly not that much surprised. "Yuigahama, huh?"

"Despite your eyes being rotten, your vision is as fine as ever. Anyway, Yuigahama will have to retake the test and she needs to pass it next time around. Now I do have faith in her abilities, but let's just say that this is a sort of... fail-safe." Pulling out another stick she clicked her lighter and lit the cigarette, blowing smoke this time away from his direction. "Nothing wrong with being too sure now, is there?"

"Alright, I guess it can't be helped." Hachiman sighed, seeing there was no point arguing after getting away unharmed.

"Well then, I guess that's all for today. I'm guessing since it's already after class, you're aching to see your 'club mates' badly, huh?"

"Not really." He replied nonchalantly, standing up to leave.

"Oh, don't be like that!" Shizuka elbowed his side before locking his lowered head into a sleeper hold. "There's no need to hide it from me!"

"Ack-! S-sensei, let go please!" He tapped at her arm repeatedly, unable to breathe both from her tight grip and her well-endowed chest pressing against his face. As he broke free he took some time to catch his breath and calm his heart down.

"Kidding aside, I'm really proud of you Hikigaya. You were quite the problematic student before, keeping to yourself and cursing everything else around you. Well, you still are a bit if I think about it, but you've definitely grown. You even formed a little circle of friends on your own too."

"Friends?" Hachiman chuckled, shaking his head. "I'm afraid you got the wrong idea, Hiratsuka-sensei."

"Hmm? Why so?" She asked, cocking her head to the side.

"For Yuigahama and Yukinoshita, I had no choice but to be near them because we are in the same club. Isshiki becoming the student council president is my fault so in return I have to aid her with anything that requires my help. Totsuka has always been in debt after the club helped him out, the same goes for Kawasaki. As for Hayama and his group, they just keep getting involved because of either their relation to Yuigahama or their need for the club's assistance." He slid the paper into his bag and slung it over his shoulder. "As you can see, these people are simply around me for a reason, being friends is a long-shot from reality."

"I see." Shizuka seemed unfazed by his long-winded speech and proceeded to take a drag from her cigarette, smiling all the way. "It seems I may have to take back a few things I've said about you."

"If that is all then I shall be going." He excused before leaving, overhearing her murmuring something about being honest before he slid the door behind him.

* * *

"Yahallo Hikki!"

"Good afternoon, Hikigaya-kun."

"Yo."

It was the common exchange of greetings that had always been part of their daily routine. Hachiman was never a fan of such a custom, to acknowledge the arrival of another person. As a loner he neither had anyone to greet nor to be greeted by, but Yukinoshita's countless discussions emphasizing its importance had him overlook it to avoid further rebukes.

He settled down on his seat, laid his bag to his side and was about to pull out his book when a certain sheet of paper among his things caught his attention.

' _That's right, I have to tell Yuigahama about this.'_ He glanced over to the girl, who was busily hunched over on her phone as usual. His eyes then moved towards the other person in the room, whom silently read her paperback book while keeping a proper posture.

Hachiman may not seem like it, but he was always very wary of his surroundings, be it objects or people. In this case, Yui may not fancy the idea of talking about a failing mark and a retest within the presence of others so he began to think of a way to talk to her about it without letting Yukino know.

It didn't take him a long time to come up with an action plan as he saw the device in Yui's hands. Reaching into his pocket he produced his own, finding her name with ease as there weren't many numbers saved in his contact list.

Since he had to make sure that Yukino wouldn't find out he typed " _don't say anything_ " in the subject, as for the body of the mail he kept it simple: _"Meet me outside school after club, I need to tell you something."_

A few seconds after sending his message, Yui's phone rang. As she opened it, she took a quick look of surprise at his direction before going on to read the contents. Hachiman watched her from the corner of his eyes as she appeared to grow tense. He also noticed her face seemed a bit redder than usual, but perhaps it was only the setting sun's rays that caused the tint.

The pink-haired girl started to work her fingers on the buttons at a speed that never failed to amaze him. As she finished whatever she had been typing, she gave a sigh and smiled coyly at her phone's screen. Hachiman checked his inbox as it vibrated, luckily it was set to silent so the ringtone didn't go off.

" _Okay, but can I ask why? Just a hint is enough."_

Sending her another message (and probably exceeding his yearly quota of sent mails) he decided to tell her about the exam. Curiosity would have kept her nervous until it was time to go home and Yukino might have caught onto her if she began to act oddly. It wouldn't do good if she-

"WHAAAAAAAT?! H-h-how did you know I failed my test?!" Yui exclaimed in shock, standing up from her seat and facing him. Yukino nearly dropped her book from the sudden outburst that broke the tranquility of the room while Hachiman could do nothing but facepalm himself.

' _So much for discretion...'_

As there was nothing left to hide, Hachiman then explained to the two girls how Shizuka had ordered him to aid her on the retake, and the reason he kept it low-key was because Yui may not be comfortable discussing the matter openly with others.

"I see, so Hiratsuka-sensei has asked for your help. Somehow I fear for Yuigahama-san's success even more." Yukino said the last part as her gaze moved to him.

"Don't blame me, this is all Sensei's idea."

"Don't be like that Yukinon." Yui chided. "Also I'm sorry for yelling, I was just like, really surprised there. It was so embarrassing that I even hid it from Yumiko and the others..." She trailed off before looking back at him with a smile. "Still, I'm impressed that you actually cared Hikki."

"I didn't, I just don't want to deal with your childish tantrums so don't get too used to it."

"E-eh?! That's terrible Hikki, I thought you were actually being nice for once!" Yui pouted.

"I'm afraid Hikigaya-kun could never be nice, even if his life depended on it."

"Of course I can. The fact that I didn't hold personal vendettas on those who had done ill towards me is proof enough of my niceness." Hachiman refuted, puffing his chest in pride. "I didn't even ask for anything as compensation for their wrongdoings."

"But knowing you, I don't think Hikki is the kind of person to be able to ask for something like that."

"And even if he does, I don't think they will listen to him."

"Why are you two ganging up against me?"

The girls' laughter filled the room and while Hachiman was as always the subject of insults, he couldn't help but feel a little happy with what was happening.

' _Dear god, have I become a masochist?'_

* * *

It had been decided that the best place to study at was Yukino's apartment, as it had the least distractions present out of the other households. She had also agreed to lend a hand which the two more than gladly accepted.

Even if it wasn't the first time Hachiman had visited her home, he was still astounded by how luxurious and well-kept the place was despite only being inhabited by a single person. Truly it matched the regal air of the refined Yukinoshita Yukino perfectly.

"Hikigaya-kun, if you're done gawking then would you kindly take a seat? It is both embarrassing and creepy when you're scrutinizing anything with those eyes of yours."

"Oh, my bad."

' _Well, up until she starts speaking anyway...'_

He turned his eyes away from the window's view of the cityscape and went to sit on the sofa. Yui was currently busy on preparing the things she would be using, laying them out on the coffee table before them. A few minutes later, Yukino returned to the living room with a tray of tea and biscuits.

"Ah, thanks Yukinon." She took her cup and blew the beverage before taking a small sip, humming delightfully in satisfaction. "You really make the best tea."

Hachiman was surprised at the other item sitting beside the treats, which Yukino took and handed over to him. "Oh, what's this? I didn't know you drink MAXX Coffee as well, Yukinoshita. I never thought you had some here at your place." He remarked, thanking her for the drink. Opening the can he relished its scent before proceeding to take a good swig of his lifeblood.

"Of course not, I could never stomach that concoction brimming with excessive amounts of sugar and caffeine. I had some reserved for yo-" Yukino suddenly stopped mid-sentence and froze, much to the surprise of the two especially since her face looked as if she had been caught red-handed.

"W-wow! That's kinda thoughtful of you Yukinon." Yui commented, noticing the awkward silence that was dragging on and dispelled it. The club president then recovered from her trance and cleared her throat.

"Y-yes, you may put it like that..." She muttered under her breath.

"..." Hachiman said nothing, instead he treated himself to another gulp of his precious drink, ignoring the blush on Yukino's face. He'd have none of her badmouthing of his MAXX Coffee.

The two started reviewing Yui soon after, with Hachiman teaching her the lessons while Yukino giving her sample questions to gauge her understanding and throw in some pointers every now and then for their discussion. They took turns in assisting her, answering each of her queries to the best of their abilities.

So far it was going well, and given that he had been tutoring Komachi on several occasions it wasn't an entirely new experience for him. One could even say that he was used to it, however he discovered that there were certain things different than with his little sister...

"Oh, so that's how it's done!" Yui remarked in complete awe, almost as if she were only exaggerating but the sparkle in her eyes as the topic slowly made sense told him otherwise.

Hachiman normally couldn't care less if she were that amazed, but it truly unnerved him how near she was sitting right beside him, the distance between them no more than a few inches. The girl would sometimes even lean towards his direction as she looked at his notes, drawing too close for comfort.

The smell of her perfume would reach his nose, which somehow managed to linger even after the length of the entire day. It had a strong sweet scent reminiscent of strawberries, quite different from the milder smell of Komachi's bubblegum shampoo, and with every whiff of its enticing fragrance he found himself oddly wanting more of it.

' _Damn you, hormones and puberty.'_ He cursed mentally. It was harder than he had originally thought to occupy himself on other things. Even Totsuka failed to liberate his mind from the alluring girl's charming qualities.

He knew better to keep his mouth firmly shut, figuring that complaining about it would lead to Yui growing conscious of the situation and losing her focus. His only breather was whenever Yukino spoke up, causing her attention to shift to the girl across her. He would then take this opportunity to regain his composure and steel himself.

' _Calm down Hachiman...'_

Time ticked away by the second and soon it was getting late. The three covered enough lessons to feel confident enough in Yui's success so they decided to finally call it a day.

"Thanks again Yukinon!" Yui hugged her friend, whom was still learning to be comfortable with her tendency for engaging in physical contact. "You really helped me out a lot!"

"Y-you're welcome, Yuigahama-san."

"Well, we're off then. Let's go Hikki!"

"Bye."

"Take care, you two."

As they made their way out the building neither of them said anything, the only sounds were of their footsteps resonating against the corridor walls before dissipating out the main entrance. They were greeted by the cold night breeze as they made their exit, whistling in their ears as it soared through the dark streets of the city. Removing the lock that secured his bike, he looked up and saw the other person waiting for him.

"I'll escort you home." Hachiman offered, and despite his face being devoid of any signs of concern the girl smiled warmly at him and nodded.

"Okay."

He had his bike at the ready and instructed Yui to take her seat behind him, reminding her to hold on tightly so as not to fall off. After giving him the go signal, he began to pedal at a slow pace before gradually gaining speed.

Both remained quiet as they rode off into the night, the wind blowing against their faces as Hachiman worked his legs. While he had always welcomed silence with open arms as the loner he was, he couldn't shake the feeling of uneasiness that irked him from the lack of Yui's chattering, as if something was off. It seemed that at some point her talkativeness had developed into a kind of white noise for him whenever he was in her presence.

"Hikki."

He heard her voice call, soft almost like a whisper, and he nearly thanked her for doing so. Eyes locked on the road, he responded without looking back.

"Yeah?"

There was a small pause before she spoke again, her indecisiveness unseen by the boy.

"Did you ever regret it? You know, about what happened before..."

It was a topic he didn't expect to come up in their conversation, especially since he had already settled that matter with her before when they had a little disagreement. He, along with Yukino's help, managed to put an end to their issue and even apologized to each other, restoring their relationship to whatever it was before that argument.

"I guess, there were times." He admitted, even if he knew it wasn't what she wanted to hear he figured the truth, no matter how cruel, was always better than a sweet lie. "Like when I'm in a lot of pain, or when I recall missing my first days of high school... But it's all in the past, no point dwelling too much in it."

"I-I see... That's a very 'Hikki' kind of answer." She chuckled lightly. "But still... I'm sorry."

"Hmm? Didn't we already agree to put that behind us?"

"I know, but I never really got to apologize before. Especially since I was really nervous at the hospital, I was afraid you might get mad at me and blame me for everything if I went to see you in person."

"I guess that's understandable." He sighed. "But like I said, it's not your fault if I went to save Sablé, I did that of my own volition. Shit happens."

"Alright. Oh, and one last thing, c-can I make a request?"

"What is it now?" Hachiman groaned, waiting for her to speak her mind. However she didn't say anything else, and just as he was about to turn his head around for a quick glance he felt hers rest on his back. "O-oi! Yuigahama, what are yo-"

"Let me be a bit selfish..." Her one hand shifted its hold from his blazer to his shoulder to keep her balance on her seat, causing him to shudder at the movement. "Even if it's only for tonight."

"..." He was rendered speechless, feeling a lump form in his throat that blocked the words he wanted to say. His mind then began to wander back to earlier events, when they sat side by side at Yukino's apartment.

The way her brown eyes glimmered with her will to learn, watching intently at the notes during his or Yukino's discussion.

Her white skin that he had once accidentally come into contact with when she scooted a little closer and their arms bumped, soft and smooth to the touch like fine silk of the highest quality.

Those supple lips, moist and glistening under the light, how it either curved up to a smile or down to a frown.

The well-developed curves of her body, exceptionally tantalizing according to his standards, closely rivalling that of Hiratsuka-sensei's.

And that iconic hair bun of hers that she just wouldn't be herself without, topping her off neatly like a cherry on a delicious parfait from some fancy café.

"Thank you, Hikki."

He hated it. How it all flustered him so much, how it effortlessly invaded his mind and incessantly gnawed at him for attention. Like some parasite that clung to him for dear life and ceaselessly fed on his energy.

It was like he was some damn love-struck riajuu happily biking his way to take his girlfriend to her home since it was already late.

' _What am I thinking?'_ He shook his head and took a deep breath, focusing his mind on their destination and disposing all unnecessary thoughts while mentally iterating his mantra.

' _Repeat after me: she's just a nice girl.'_

Luckily both had their faces away from the other, conveniently hiding the bright crimson blush that streaked their cheeks from sight.

* * *

Upon reaching their destination, Yui's mother thanked him for both his help and for seeing her home. After another awkward situation with the doting parent constantly meddling on her daughter's affairs before getting forcefully shoved inside the house, she shut the door closed behind her and sighed in relief.

"I see your mom is as lively as ever."

"Don't mind what she's saying!" Yui laughed nervously. "I'm sorry for having Hiratsuka-sensei trouble you with helping me, but I'm really grateful to have friends like you and Yukinon."

"D-don't mention it. It was partly my fault for snoozing in class anyway." He said, glad she didn't see him flinch a moment ago.

"Hehe, yeah. Serves you right." The girl kiddingly stuck her tongue out at him. "But next time, I'll try not to do it again."

"Hmm, again?" The boy inquired, unsure of what she was referring to.

"Yup! The reason why I failed. It was because I didn't get to study properly for the test and my mind was fixed on other things. I was also a bit sleepy since the night before the day of the exam I had been up late busily... practicing."

"I see then. Well, whatever it is you're working on, good luck with that."

"Oh, it's already done. The results weren't what I had expected, but..." Yui looked away smiling shyly, as if recalling something embarrassing. "I guess you could say it went well."

"Uhuh." Hachiman shrugged, getting ready to leave. "Anyway it's getting late, so I'm going."

"Alright, goodbye and I'll see you tomorrow Hikki." She bid him farewell, shouting one last reminder before seeing him off. "And get some sleep this time so you don't end up dozing off at class!"

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ _Sorry for the wait. I had a lot of things I wanted to put in this chapter, but I selected what I think should only be for now._

 _I also wanted to insert another character besides the three and Komachi, so I gave Shizuka a short appearance here._

 _Thank you for being patient! I hope you enjoyed the story._


	6. More Than Meets The Eye

_**A/N:**_ _Chapter 6 has arrived, it's lengthy, chunky and it freaking took forever. But another character has entered the fray._

 _Long_ _ **author's note**_ _at the end btw._

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ _I don't own Oregairu._

 ** _Edit:_** _Thanks to a certain guest review regarding the issue with the interactions between chapters 1 and 4 towards the current status of Hachiman and Yui's relationship. I had decided against taking them down, so please note that the contents of those two are NOT related to the others. Added horizontal rules (which keep disappearing for some reason)._

 _For the other guest review regarding an update for a separate fic, you have mistaken me for **S** **toryTelleroftheMist,** but I'll let him/her know._

* * *

It was a cloudy day as Hikigaya Hachiman sat on the low steps of his "best place", on his lap laid the bento box that Komachi had prepared for him earlier morning. It contained a healthy plethora of meat, vegetables and rice divided into portions which were carefully and decoratively set by his loving little sister.

' _And not a tomato in sight.'_ He mused while observing for any hints of it, remembering how she had slipped one into his meal before to tease him.

Everything was almost perfect... _Almost._ There was one more thing he knew that could complete this little scenery of his, but the odds of it coming true were stacked against him.

' _If only Totsuka were here... I'd have asked for nothing more.'_ He mused, shaking his head.

Before he could dig his chopsticks into his appetizing meal, the sound of footsteps pattering on the floor took his attention. A cool sea breeze blew and, like a heaven-sent guide, made him turn his head to his left.

There he was, the angel he had yearned for, treading his way towards him. His dead fish eyes fixed their gaze upon the person and the sight nearly stilled his heart if it weren't beginning to race.

He could see it: his silver locks softly bouncing at his movements, the beads of sweat on his forehead shimmering like prismatic bubbles as they were flung away while he ran, the innocent longing in those round, blue eyes of his that seemed to be screaming for his name...

"Hachiman, can you hear me?" A boy's voice called, one that lacked a certain degree of masculinity. When he had broken off from his reverie he found himself staring right into the pout on Saika's face. The two were making direct eye-contact as he sat beside him whilst leaning forward a little, the distance between their faces only a mere few inches.

The loner quickly withdrew from the close proximity and struggled to calm his beating heart down after narrowly avoiding the urge to pounce at the prey before him. With a deep breath he recollected himself and faced the boy properly once more.

"T-Totsuka," he started with a shaky voice, "I didn't expect you to come here."

"Oh, sorry. Did I disturb you? I had been looking for you."

"I-I see..." Hachiman gulped at his next question. "You needed something?"

"Umm, about that..." Saika fiddled his fingers coyly, this time he was the one to avert his gaze. "You see, I kinda needed to talk to you... in private."

"Private?" It was his turn to grow nervous. "No one else is here so... what is it?"

"W-well, how do I put it? I was wondering if..." A slight blush drew on his face while he sought for the proper words to use. "Let's just say if you were to go out, where would you prefer to eat?"

' _Go out and eat?'_ Hachiman could hear his own heartbeat thumping loudly, like it were to burst out of his chest. _'I-is Totsuka possibly indirectly asking me out on a... date?'_

He observed the boy in front of him, his hand was up on his mouth as if he were chewing on his thumb. His eyes were also bigger than before, glossy and pleading in nature as he awaited his response.

' _But Totsuka asking me out is too good to be true. And why do those eyes feel somehow familiar...'_

It was then that an image flashed before his mind for a split-second, one that harbored a similar gaze with the same powerful effects as the one before him held. Seeing her face made him remember recent events and with a stroke of serendipity, the dots connected and things started making sense.

"Wait a minute, Totsuka. Tell me something first," he cleared his throat. "Is the reason you're asking me this is because Yuigahama asked you to?"

"Ah-!" Saika covered his mouth to possibly stop any words from revealing the truth, but his reaction was enough to confirm that his hunch was right. With a defeated sigh, he scratched the back of his head. "Y-yeah, she kinda did. Was it that obvious?"

"I knew it." Hachiman sighed in return, cursing himself for guessing correctly. "But no, not really so don't blame yourself. It's more of a shortcoming on her side, if anything."

"Alright, but please don't tell her you found out, okay? I promised Yui-chan not to let you know the reason behind it." He pressed his hands together and winked at him.

' _Adorable! Simply adorable!'_ Hachiman silently nodded, fearing other words would leave his mouth if he were to open it.

"Still, even if you two do happen to get along well these days, I am still surprised you managed to find out that she had asked me for that favor."

"Huh? Yuigahama and I get along?"

"Yeah! While it is a bit rare, whenever I see you two together you guys seem to hit it off better than before. To be honest, when she called for my help regarding this I had mistaken the two of you to be dating. She was acting all nervous when she approached me, and even while we were talking... "

"..." Saika noticed a slight blush on Hachiman's face as he listened silently to him.

"Wait a minute, so you mean to tell me the two of you _**are**_ dating _ **?**_ "

"What? No, no, no!" He adamantly denied, not wanting his precious angel to get the wrong idea nor to know he fancied the thought of Saika watching him. "You have it wrong, we are definitely _**NOT**_ dating."

"No need to be too defensive about it." Saika chuckled, his words coming off familiarly to him.

"I just want to avoid any misunderstandings or rumors from starting to spread around campus, something like that would certainly tarnish her reputation. She's a member of Hayama's clique so it wouldn't do if people went and talked about us in hushed whispers. It's just that I did her a favor and she's simply paying me back in goodwill. Nothing more, nothing less." He said matter-of-factly. Plus, Hachiman felt there was no real need to revisit embarrassing middle school experiences to use as examples to emphasize his point.

"That does sound like you. Alright then, if you say so." He shrugged. "But I'm curious, what did exactly happen for her to be indebted to you?"

"Do I really have to?" Hachiman asked, but the look on Saika's face gave the answer. "Fine. Let me see, I guess it started when I was in club..."

* * *

' _Dammit. This is futile.'_

Hikigaya Hachiman closed the book in his hands and pinched the bridge of his nose. He took a quick glance at the clock hanging on the wall and gave out a sigh.

It had almost been an hour since club started, and while he normally whiled the time away by reading his novels today he could not find it in himself to do so.

Peering over to his left he saw the "Ice Queen" namely Yukinoshita Yukino intently reading a book of her own, silent as ever while maintaining her perfect posture as she sat upright on her chair. The fact that his view of her was unobstructed brought his attention towards the empty seat that laid between them, one that belonged to a certain noisy airhead whom had yet to make another appearance.

It was none other than Yuigahama Yui, whose scheduled retake for her exam was today hence she excused herself from club in the meantime. The two wished her good luck before she left, to which she responded by reassuring them with a thumbs-up that she would definitely pass it without fail.

Hachiman had faith in his and Yukino's efforts that they would surely yield positive results, but when it comes down to it nothing was truly certain after all. 0.01% in itself was still a chance no matter how much the odds were against it and life always found ways to mess things up, pulling out a myriad of tricks from up its sleeve when least expected.

Lost in his thoughts he had not noticed that he was mindlessly tapping his foot on the floor until Yukino raised her head from her book and shot him an icy glare, sending chills down his spine.

"Hikigaya-kun, would you kindly refrain from doing that? Some of us are trying to read in peace and quiet." She complained, resuming her activity soon after.

"Sorry."

Tried as he might, he could not stop himself from worrying. The thought gnawed at him and all his efforts to redirect his attention had been in vain. Even when he told himself repeatedly that everything would turn out fine and that he believed in her abilities (to a certain extent, of course), part of him still dreaded the possibility that if her luck ran out now of all times she would without a doubt fail.

And that certain pessimistic part of him was none other than his gut, which would definitely receive a finishing blow from Shizuka as the untold consequence if he did not accomplish her favor. He felt a sore spot forming on it as his anxiety levels rose, stirring a storm within him that grew in intensity at each passing moment.

His stomach did not have to churn for longer however, as the door to the room suddenly slid open loudly to reveal a bubbly, young girl with short, peach hair standing there, a bright smile beaming across her face like a shining beacon of happiness.

"Guys, I passed!" She declared enthusiastically, holding up a sheet of paper and waving it frantically in the air.

"Congratulations, Yuigahama-sa- *oof!*" The club president had the wind knocked out of her as the other girl tackled her into a hug, nearly toppling her off the chair in the process.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you Yukinon!" Drowning her in gratitude her embrace tightened around her friend, whose protests regarding the invasion of her personal space falling onto deaf ears as she squirmed underneath her grip. "I couldn't have done it without your help!"

Hachiman only watched the two from afar and, having felt a little awkward as well as left out at the intimacy being shared between the two, tore his eyes away from them and returned to his novel. Now that his worries had been quelled and his mind put to ease, he smoothly blended into the background, a feat he had mastered from performing over the years.

He was quite used to it; not getting credited properly for his help that is, and not the public display of affection between two young girls. He wasn't against such relationships, it was more of he simply couldn't care less about them, just as he needed neither their thanks nor praises to make him feel better. His methods were often depicted as unorthodox by others, hence only a few actually did show their gratitude. Besides, he was well off knowing he did what he was asked to do, and to him that was all that ever mattered becau-

"Hikki!"

A cheerful voice broke his train of thought, cutting him off entirely from his internal monologue. He turned his eyes towards the source who still clung on Yukino and was met with the same smile from earlier, only this time it had a more powerful effect as it was directed straight towards him.

"Thank you too!"

"U-umm, sure..." Hachiman looked away, hoping that the two girls wouldn't notice the redness of his face. "You're welcome."

The club soon returned to its normal affairs, with Yui being the heart of the noise as she went on about her endeavor to pass her exam. She told them about how she stayed up late that night after their study session to review more and memorize the pointers they gave her, which proved to be helpful in answering most of the items.

"I was really nervous you know. But when I saw the questions on the sheet I was like, 'ah! I remember Yukinon showed me this one and Hikki explained this other one for me' and stuff." She recounted the events of earlier, complemented with her facial expressions and hand gestures. "The teacher was very happy to see that my score had improved greatly in comparison with my initial take."

"I'm surprised he never suspected you of cheating." Hachiman commented.

"C-cheating?" Yui's eyebrows furrowed at the word. "T-that's a totally mean accusation, Hikki! I would never do something dishonest like that!"

"I'm just kidding. No need to be too defensive about it." He waved his hand dismissively. "I'm sorry."

"Well... I really can't stay mad at Hikki." Yui sighed before smiling again. "Alright, I accept your apology."

Things soon quieted down as they were left to their own devices, with the girl in between striking up a conversation every now and then whenever she received a mail about something that the two might find interesting. When club period had finally ended the three packed their belongings and exited the room, with the two members waiting as Yukino locked the door shut.

"Yukinon, is it alright if Hikki and I go on ahead and wait by the shoe lockers while you return the key?"

"Hmm, will you be safe with only him around?" She planted her suspicion-filled eyes onto Hachiman.

"I would highly appreciate it if you stopped treating me like I'm some kind of sex offender all the time."

"Don't worry, I assure you that Hikki promises to behave." Yui turned to him. "Am I right?"

"Yeah, whatever." He replied sardonically, rolling his eyes. _'And I wish you wouldn't treat me like a pet though.'_

"Very well, I'll be off." She then excused herself and made her way to the teachers' lounge as the two began on their own path.

Contrary to their accustomed manner of going somewhere together, since there were no other students hanging around the school anymore Yui found Hachiman walking side by side with her. It was a rather rare event as it usually were the three of them, she found the change of pace refreshingly different for this time she could feel his presence more than just his gaze piercing her back from afar.

And with this golden opportunity at hand, Yui decided to utilize it for something that had been in her mind since last night. Upon reaching their destination she stopped in her tracks and took a deep breath to muster her courage, carefully remembering the script she had prepared beforehand for this very moment.

"H-Hikki!" She blurted out. Her fists clenched as her arms grew rigid by her sides.

"Hmm?" Hachiman faced the girl, eyebrow raised in waiting for her to speak up.

"Ah, you see, I was just thinking..." Yui trailed off, suddenly losing grasp on the words she had memorized now that he was looking right at her.

"'Thinking?'"

"W-what are you getting at?!" She complained, but had to shove the snide remark aside for now as more important matters were at hand. "A-anyway, you know, since I did pass the test I-I thought of repaying you guys, my treat."

"Ah, there's no need for that." He shook his head. "It was only a favor from Hiratsuka-sensei after she let me off easy for sleeping in class, so don't worry about it."

"B-but I just wanted to-"

"I said there's no need for it." He declined her offer once more by cutting her off, Yui visibly taken aback by his abrupt interruption.

It was something that he had foreseen, though he hadn't given it much thought as his mind was previously occupied by other things. Hachiman didn't want Yui to feel obligated for his actions, he had helped her out merely because it was asked of him by his teacher, not by Yui herself. She shouldn't have felt indebted to him at all for anything as he had only done what he was told to do by Shizuka from their deal.

If there was one thing Hachiman hated besides nice girls, it was the feeling of being pitied upon.

There was a brief moment of silence before his words finally sunk in and the effects showed up on her.

"U-umm, I see..." She replied meekly, eyes downcast as her shoulders sagged, the disappointment in her voice reminiscent of times in the past when he had so rudely interrupted her and a disagreement about misinterpreted gestures of goodwill. "That's right, how stupid of me to think that way, h-haha..."

' _Just ignore the nice girl, Hachiman. It's for your own good.'_ He gritted his teeth at the sight of her, at the sad expression marring her face that had previously been brimming with bliss, at how lifeless she appeared before him because of his own doing. _'Just. Ignore. Her.'_

"...sorry." She whispered, almost to the point of merely mouthing the word yet it didn't fail to reach his ears and ultimately hit a soft spot he unknowingly had within him.

' _*sigh* Goddammit.'_

"Fine." He muttered. Yui lifted her head at the sound of his voice and looked at him, his back turned towards her. "Just don't think of this as you owing me this or anything."

"Ah, r-really?" Her face immediately brightened up at the sudden turn of events.

"Yeah."

Seeing Yui crestfallen like that somehow seemed very wrong for him, and he couldn't help but feel guilty for causing her. While he was normally indifferent about how others felt, it appeared to be a special case for him, much like Komachi whom he couldn't bear the thought of displeasing or getting mad.

"Really, really?"

"Oi, don't make me change my mind."

"Ahaha, I'm sorry." She giggled, now back to her old self much to his relief. Hachiman turned to her but instantly regretted it once he did as he saw the wide, contented smile on her face. "I'm just happy."

"I'll leave the planning to you and Yukinoshita then."

"Ah-!" Yui was surprised at his statement, realizing she forgot to mention an important point. "Actually, I-I was planning to treat Yukinon separately... since you two don't seem to get along well."

"So you're saying it's just you and me?"

"Mhm, exactly."

"..." Hachiman just stared at her in disbelief, blushing a bit before looking away to ponder over his decision. Yui tilted her head, nearly asking what the problem was when the thought struck her.

"B-b-b-b-but it's not a date or anything!" Her voice cracked as she quickly defended herself, waving her hand in front of her. "I-I just wanted to make sure you two won't ruin each other's time, I swear!"

"I never mentioned anything about a date."

"Y-yeah! I mean, you're not even my boyfriend yet, h-haha!"

"...'yet'?"

"*gasp!*" Yui covered her mouth, her face now growing even redder from ear to ear. "No! I-I-I mean, w-what I meant to say was, umm..."

"Reacting like that makes it only worse, you know." Hachiman sighed at how much trouble a nice girl could stir up so easily despite her poor attempts at articulating herself. He had to admit that after being a loner for so long, the kindness of the likes of her was truly a force to be reckoned with. He would always find himself slowly slipping from his grasp of things, nearly drifting away from where he stood and drowning in the sea of sweet lies that such nice girls had to offer.

But he would not falter. Hachiman vowed never to forget his past so he would never be doomed to repeat it.

"Let's just pretend that that never happened." He suggested, hoping it would finally put his and her minds at ease from the awkward situation they had unexpectedly dug themselves into. "But like I said, I'll leave it up to you to decide since I'm not good with these things."

It was a fact that a certain kouhai did the liberty of confirming for his sake.

"A-alright," Yui said, having recovered from the previous situation. Despite her face still bearing a tinge of red, there was strong determination within her eyes as she gave him a thumbs-up. "Just leave it up to me, Hikki!"

* * *

"And that's pretty much it." Hachiman concluded, rubbing his chin at a certain thought that had suddenly dawned on him after the recollection. "In hindsight, with what she did now, she made me decide on stuff anyway. So much for 'leaving it up to her'."

"I guess so. But maybe she didn't want to disappoint you if in case she made poor choices?"

"Really now," he scoffed at his naïve suggestion. "The secret to not being disappointed is to lower your expectations to realistic levels. Better yet, don't expect much at all, if possible. That way, even if things don't turn out well, you wouldn't feel let down."

"That doesn't sound quite commendable. But coming from you, I understand," Saika smiled warmly, causing Hachiman's heart to skip a beat. "Still, you need to put a little more faith in others, much like how they put theirs in you."

"That's not true. People only relied on me for my aid, whether I succeeded or not was still something they took into account."

"Yes it is! And even though they did somehow doubt you, in the end they still depended on you."

"That's only because they had no other choice."

"They could always have thrown in the towel instead." Saika pointed out. "But they didn't, right? And that's because _**you**_ were there for them. It's the same thing when you were there for me. I could have just surrendered, but you guys never gave up on me."

Hachiman didn't say anything back in fear of upsetting his angel so the boy went on.

"Yui-chan placed her trust on you when you helped her out to study, and so did Yukinoshita-san. If that still doesn't convince you, then know that I too believe that you would take good care of Yui-chan."

"Wait a minute, why are you leaving her to me? Do I look like some kind of babysitter?"

"...hey Hachiman, tell me," Saika scooted closer to his side and looked up directly into his eyes, making the other boy gulp at the lack of space between them. Their fingers were almost touching as he leaned a bit over to him, the butterflies in his stomach riled up in a chaotic flutter. "Let's just keep this between us guys... What do you think of Yui-chan?"

"W-why do you ask?" Saika didn't give an answer and only stared intently at him, the dead air pushing him to comply. "Well, we're club mates. She's very noisy and clumsy, and sometimes she can be a real airhead."

"Wait, those are all negative things. Doesn't she have any positive traits?"

"Hmm, I guess she has a way with handling people, making them feel comfortable around her."

"Anything else?"

"She can be very determined. Once she's all fired up at getting something done, you know she'll give it her all."

"Is she cute?"

"What? Where'd that come from? ...though I can't say she isn't."

"Do you think she's nice then?"

"She is. She's even willing to give up on things just to make way for others. In fact, she's the nicest girl I've ever known, and that wouldn't even be an overstatement."

' _Too nice, to a fault.'_ Hachiman shrugged knowing just how diabolical nice girls were. How their acts of kindness could deceive you into thinking there was something more to their actions. Like sirens they would lure you in with their tricks, and once you lower your guard they would savagely end your pitiful life with a single, blatant rejection. You'd be sent spiraling down an abyss of despair wailing, and upon looking back up to see who pushed you, you will be met with nothing but the same, deceiving smiles on their faces.

Yui once let him feel that same kindness from before, and at the first instance of sensing it all the past experiences he had came flooding down into his mind. He was sure that she had only been nice to him out of obligation, out of indebtedness. He was sure there was no other reason for her to be that way towards him, as they had never even spoken to each other up until they met at the Service Club.

She knew that she was the cause for his accident before and simply wanted to pay for what she had owed him. He had confronted her regarding the matter and they ended up with a misunderstanding that, had it not been for Yukino's intervention, would have kept them drifting apart from each other to this day. Hachiman at least found that while he did think that way about her actions Yui was in her own way actually being genuinely kind to him, the reason being something he had yet to fully understand up to this day.

And now he had agreed to accompany her to some place he was left to decide in order to show her gratitude for his assistance.

It wasn't the fact that the gesture bore similarities with those of the past that had led him dark roads he never wanted to revisit, but rather despite his constant denials, part of him was feeling expectantly, part of him looked forward to the day.

Part of him had, at some point in time, grown a bit hopeful, and it truly sickened him to the core like spoiled milk and tomatoes.

"That's good to hear." Saika finally moved away from him, smiling contentedly at his companion. "But I believe she won't always act as selfless as she does at everything, and there'll be a time when she would choose to follow her own heart's desire."

"What makes you say that?"

"Just a hunch." He winked at him, effectively stopping a flustered Hachiman from prying any further. Saika then stood up and dusted himself off, signaling that he was about to leave. "Nevertheless, I'm glad to know the two of you are doing well. She's been happier lately too, and whenever we do get to chat you always seem to be a name that pops up in our conversation. Are you sure you two aren't dating?"

"A hundred percent." He replied quickly.

"Alright. Again, please don't tell her you found out about her favor. And lastly, don't hurt Yui-chan, okay?" Hachiman nodded at his request before he made his departure, leaving the loner to watch as his precious angel took off into the halls and disappeared from his field of vision at a right turn. Now that he had no one else left to talk to, his mind began to ponder on a few things Saika had mentioned.

He had previously pressed the reset button on his relationship with Yui, if there ever was one to call as such. He knew it was the right thing to do, and so he did without hesitation. But Shizuka's meddling and Yukino's effort on their affairs had caused the wall he had built to crumble, and soon he found that they were back to square one.

There was nothing left standing between him and her anymore, and in the passage of time he could feel that the distance between them grew smaller. It would be a lie if he told himself he was unaware of it.

Despite his hate for small talk, he found himself engaging in a conversation with her more often than before, usually during times they would walk together to and from club. Even if it was rare, there were also instances he would receive mails from her though most of them to him appeared to be illegible hieroglyphs that he had difficulty deciphering. Perhaps it was a riajuu thing.

Not to mention there were other things he tried his best to suppress...

' _Hachiman, you're overthinking again.'_ He took a deep breath to relax. _'Worry about that later, for now just enjoy your-'_

Before he could pick up his chopsticks the sound of the bell rang throughout the school, signaling lunch break has ended. He watched as the group of students from afar bustled on their return to their respective classrooms, chatting loudly as if they hadn't seen each other in ages. His eyes then moved to the meal lying on his lap, untouched and gone cold from the prolonged exposure as the sounds of voices of youth faded in the distance.

He let out another sigh as he stowed his bento away and stood up, deciding to head back to avoid getting in trouble again. He knew Shizuka wouldn't be as forgiving next time around. While making his way to class he found a girl standing by the first turn at the corridor, eyes widening at the sight of him.

"Yahallo Hikki!" She greeted. "We better hurry or we'll be late."

Hachiman didn't utter a word and only grunted his approval, watching as she took a few steps ahead of him as rehearsed before taking some of his own.

In truth, he was speechless from being caught by surprise from seeing her there. He almost believed that she had been there all this time waiting for him. _Almost._

' _But it all sounds too good to be true.'_

"Hikki? Are you okay?" Hachiman flinched as he came back to his senses, nearly bumping into Yui as he had kept walking while she had stopped.

"You were saying?"

' _There are limits to a person's kindness, and it depends on the level of familiarity between the two. But...'_

"I wasn't saying anything, I just saw you looked sorta troubled back there?"

"Oh, it's nothing."

' _But still.'_

"Okay." Yui then resumed walking, with him following suit at a distance. He continued his contemplation, staring blankly at the girl before him while his body moved on autopilot.

As they reached the classroom Yui waved goodbye to him before entering first, returning to her seat among her peers. Hachiman went to his own desk and found himself stealing a glance at her from the corner of his eye.

' _There were always some exceptions, and besides...'_

He swore he caught her taking a peek at him as well with a small smile on her face.

' _This is Yuigahama we're talking about...'_

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ _It's been a while._

 _I am terribly sorry for the late update. My laptop's hard drive got corrupted beyond repair (an unreadable bad sector formed in it), did all the possible remedies but to no avail. That means I lost all my precious files, including the two seasons of Oregairu. It dealt quite the blow on my motivation to write so I took a really long time before I could finish this one. Luckily my stories are stored elsewhere hence they weren't affected by the unexpected wipeout, so at least there's that._

 _Then there's the internet access. I often visit FFN at work because I rent a place nearby and only go home during weekends. But because of a transition occurring here, my access to the proxy server I am using was revoked. I am still open to betareading, but I do apologize for any delays._

 _Also I normally don't like writing multi-chapter stories (because I feel like I will grow lazy and drop/abandon the story at some point in time), yet here I am writing one... Oh well, good luck to me._

 _Thanks as well to_ _ **Pewdepew, Kaisaeren, Betrayed Dreams and Juphup**_ _for being there to talk to me regarding this story. You all helped me out by motivating me to write so I'm really thankful for you guys._

 _Thanks to_ _ **OmegaEleven**_ _(sorry for_ _not getting to reply via PM sooner bud) for pointing out that my previous summary had been misleading with the content all this time. I should be more mindful of such things. So yeah, this is no longer a collection of drabbles though the first and fourth ought to be unrelated to the others. I apologize for any confusion this has caused._

 _Prompt my_ _ **Mr. Self-Deprecation,**_ _have Hachiman and Saika talk about his relationship with Yui, I hope I executed this properly and to your liking. Thanks again!_

 _And to all my readers, guests or registered, who are still reading this even after I haven't posted anything in two months. Y'all the real MVPs._

 _Please let me know if you enjoyed this, if I did well or whatever areas of improvement you may find. I feel I have lost the spark in my writing after everything that's happened. *sigh* I need a cup of coffee._


	7. That Which We Refuse To Accept

_**A/N:**_ _To the two guest reviewers, and whomever else this is applicable for, here you go._

 _ **EDIT:** AHOGE, NOT AHEGAO. FUCK. *face-palm* THANK YOU EVERYONE!_

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ _I don't own Oregairu._

* * *

Yui was a few steps ahead of him as Hachiman trudged along from behind, holding his gut with both hands in hopes of quelling the loud rumbles of his empty stomach. He hadn't had the chance to grab something to eat earlier and his packed lunch had already gone bad, nor was there anything else left in the cafeteria that he found to be palatable.

Yukino had already given her consent for them to leave club earlier, but rather than express her pity to his state she had other things in mind, never moving her eyes away from her book as she spoke.

" _To see Hikigaya-kun writhing in starvation is much more unappealing than his usual form, and the sight may traumatize anyone who enters those doors."_

Hachiman was not in the right condition to retort so he had stayed silent, save for his growling tummy. Meanwhile as if a light bulb had suddenly appeared above her head, Yui sat straight up with "eureka" painted all over her face.

" _Then could we be excused for today Yukinon? I did plan to treat Hikki for helping me out on my exam, and now's a better time than ever."_

" _Hmm... That would be_ _ **killing**_ _two birds with one stone."_ The president nodded at the thought, adding unnecessary emphasis on the word.

' _Hey, don't say that while you're looking at me.'_

" _Very well, I shall handle things here by myself in the meantime, you two may be excused."_

Which then led to their current situation, walking aimlessly for quite some time.

"So, where were we going again exactly?"

Yui froze in place at the question and turned around rigidly, an awkward smile on her face.

"A-ahaha, well about that..."

The reason for his inquiry was none other than his mind going back to today's earlier events, one about sharing a recollection with a certain boy during lunch period. He himself had been asked a question, yet before Hachiman could even give his response Saika had already taken his leave.

And from where he was, right behind her as they walked for the past few minutes, he could tell that the girl before him was clearly troubled with that unsettled matter.

"So I take it you don't know where to go?"

"U-umm..." Yui only scratched her head at the question. Hachiman drew out a long sigh.

"Don't worry about it too much. With the way I am now, I don't really care where we go. Besides, as long as you're not the one preparing the food I think it'll be fine."

"W-what's with that!? I'll have you know I've been practicing every weekend!" Yui pouted and turned away, proceeding to walk on ahead of him though she made sure she wouldn't stray too far in leaving him behind.

Unexpectedly, her nervousness from earlier had somehow subsided enough to at least clear her thoughts. Looking around, her eyes chanced upon a fast food restaurant that served good food at a reasonable price, given her allowance.

"Not bad." Hachiman commented, finally catching up to her. "I'm fine with this place. Let's go inside?"

"Okay."

As the two entered the establishment they discovered that it was fairly crowded, bustling with an assortment of adults, students and families all contributing to the noise within the store. He had always hated this atmosphere that choked his introvert self, but his hunger was already far too great that he could let this slide for now.

"I'll do the ordering, Hikki can go on and find us a table." The girl then went to stand in line at the counter.

His eyes scanned for empty seats as he navigated around, all the while receiving glares back from some people whom made direct eye-contact with him. He simply ignored them as always and went on with his search.

When he finally did find one it was located at the far end opposite the counter, consisting of a small square table with two chairs placed across each other.

' _She'd probably feel uncomfortable with this setting, better find a different one and-'_

"Ah! Hikki, there you are!" Yui yelled as she spotted him from afar. She then hurriedly made her way to him, setting the tray of food down and taking her seat. "It was kind of hard to look for you in a crowded place y'know, since you don't stand out much."

"Oi, was that last bit really necessary?"

"Hehe, just kidding!" The girl stuck her tongue out. "That's for what you said earlier about my cooking! Besides, Hikki isn't really that hard to find if you actually try."

Just then, her warm smile felt oddly reassuring. Who knew someone could ever say those words to him without making it sound like a sarcastic joke? Not to mention his ears grew hot...

"Hikki's eyes were a "dead" give-away. Get it?"

"..." Hachiman swore he could hear the crickets chirping somewhere.

"I-I guess I've made you wait long enough. Shall we eat?"

At her invitation, the girl across him took her fork in hand. He smiled and sat down as well, her words music to his ears.

"Sure. Thanks for the meal."

It was the very moment he had been waiting for all day, and the built-up anticipation made his burger all the more delicious. He savored the experience of his teeth biting down from the sesame seed bun to the succulent patty, then to the dressing with the vegeta-

*cough cough* "Ack!" Hachiman began pounding his chest as he coughed, making Yui panic.

"Hikki! W-what's the matter?! Ah, here drink this!" She handed him his soda which his fingers fumbled to hold before downing it all in one go.

"T-thanks." He muttered, catching his breath after his ordeal.

"W-what happened? Why did you suddenly start choking? Were you eating too fast?"

"I wasn't-"

"You don't like what I got you?"

"No, no, that's not it. It's..." Hachiman trailed off.

"It's what? W-what is it? What's wrong?"

"T-to..." He shivered as he remembered the moment it slid on his tongue, unfortunately for him some of its taste were still left in his mouth. "T-tomatoes..."

"..."

"..."

"...what?"

"I-I don't like tomatoes."

There was a pause as Yui's brain processed the revelation. She just stared at him, whom continued to blush after admitting the true cause of his little fiasco.

Then she made a weird sound, somewhat similar to a snort. Hachiman saw her slightly trembling figure as she pressed her lips tightly together.

"Yuigahama?"

"Ahahaha!" Yui finally burst out laughing, holding onto her sides. "T-T-TOMATOES? Really, Hikki? Hahaha!"

"Yeah, yeah. Feel free to go ahead make fun of me." The boy pouted.

"Hahaha... Haaa, I'm sorry." The girl had calmed down, wiping a tear away from the corner of her eye. "But it's not like I was making fun of you or anything, I was just worried."

"Is that so?"

"I originally thought I got you the wrong order. I never really asked for what you wanted in the first place. Ah, I'm glad."

"Really now..."

'" _Worried" huh.'_ Hachiman scoffed at the term while removing the remainders of the accursed fruit from his burger. The word truly fit Yuigahama to a T, if he would say so himself.

"It'd be a waste if you just throw those away." Yui pointed out the tomato slices he had collected in the wrapper. "I'll eat them for you if it's alright?"

"Knock yourself out."

She moved them onto her plate, where she cut them into smaller pieces before eating them. Hachiman just watched in disgust as his enemies disappeared one by one, nonetheless relieved they were now out of sight.

As the two resumed eating they shared a comfortable silence, save for the loud ruckus of the family from the next table. The children were quarrelling with each other about the most trivial of things, something about who's more powerful between two characters if they were to be in a fight. He felt ashamed for the parents who couldn't even tame their own children to act appropriately within public places.

' _Besides, S*itama would kick G*ku's butt any day, hands down. Q.E.D.'_

Thanks to his famished state Hachiman had consumed his meal faster than he had expected, thus he was left sooner with nothing else to do. It would have been rude to Yui if he were to take his leave right after she had just treated her so he had remained seated, quietly watching the girl before him taking her time.

One thing he did notice was that for the ditzy airhead he had always thought of her to be, Yui was unexpectedly proper when it came to eating. She would bring her silverware up to her face with one hand while tucking away some of her hair with the other to make sure it wouldn't stick to her food. Then she'd chew the mouthful carefully before swallowing it down.

To think there was this side of her that had such manners, quietly enjoying her meal. It was like he was in front of a different person.

"I-is something wrong?"

"Huh?"

"You were kinda staring at me a bit too intensely, it feels a little creepy..."

"Oh, s-sorry." He moved his gaze away from her and to the kids from the next table as his mind then went back to his train of thought before being interrupted.

His little sister on the other hand was the exact opposite. She would eat at her own fast pace, and after each meal there would always be a mess left behind. It wasn't that she was acting like some sort of savage whenever she were in front of the table, but she just couldn't manage to keep things from falling off her plate.

' _Komachi could learn a thing or two, heck maybe even ten from her.'_

"Ah!"

Yui flinched as the pasta had touched her face, leaving a stain of spaghetti sauce on her face. Setting her fork down, she took the table napkin and wiped it off, though some had still remained.

"You missed a spot." He commented, pointing at her left cheek.

"Huh? Where?"

"There."

"Here?"

"Let me have it." Hachiman sighed and swiped the tissue from her hand, wiping the small amount of red left himself. "You remind me of how Komachi can be helplessly messy sometimes."

Yui only stared at the used napkin on his hand as a new shade of red now stained her face. His "onii-chan tendencies" had been triggered earlier as he tended to her, and it was only now that he noticed what had just occurred.

"Ah... Still, it's nothing to be embarrassed about." He defended, trying to diffuse the awkwardness of the situation. "It's not like it doesn't happen to everyone once in a while, so don't worry about it."

"Y-yeah... Thanks."

After finishing her pasta, she sipped away at her juice when she saw how Hachiman was looking at her drink. Glancing at his empty glass, she remembered how he had drunk all of it after his choking incident earlier.

"Do you want some?" She offered.

"Hmm..."

In truth he had been left parched from the saltiness of the fries, but the thought of using the same straw she drank from was...

Well, the moment felt quite similar with a certain incident during their trip to Kyoto, which would have had resulted with an indirect kiss had he been as careless as her. Plus it was too troublesome to ask for water. He would always spend a long time waiting from being ignored by the staff, only to be served some when he was finally asked what the matter was when most of the customers had complained of his presence.

Hachiman however was far different from the riajuus of the world. He would think outside of the box, gaze at the countless possibilities that laid out before him for the best option. He would definitely find a way, he always did after all.

He took it from her hand and without a hint of hesitation, drank a swig directly from the rim of the glass itself instead. The cool liquid felt great as it swirled down his throat, quenching his since then nagging thirst for good.

"Thanks." As he returned her drink when he realized Yui's facial expression had suddenly changed, like she had seen a ghost. "You okay?"

"H-huh? Ah, y-yes." She gingerly took the glass from his hands with her head hung low, which had remained that way until she had finished. The two then hurriedly exited the restaurant afterwards.

Looking up at the sky it was now tinged a bright orange, the clouds filtering the remaining rays of the setting sun. His ahoge danced along the light blow of the crisp cool air. It was a nice change of atmosphere that he welcomed anytime, considering how the crowded place from before was too suffocating for his taste.

Yet the peacefulness of the surroundings could do nothing against the sinking feeling within him, which seemed to grow worse as he glanced at the girl beside him. While traces of anxiety marred her usually jovial facial features, he was at a loss on the cause.

"Do you want me to escort you home?" Hachiman offered. Yui appeared surprised at the gesture and thought for a while before shaking her head.

"Nope, I'll be fine." She declined, a strained smile on her face. "It isn't dark yet so I can manage by my own. Thank you."

"...then I'm off."

"Okay, see ya tomorrow."

* * *

"I'm home," Hachiman said aloud upon reaching his home and as expected, his little sister's head peeked out the living room door on cue.

"Welcome back, Onii-chan!" She warmly greeted his arrival with a noticeable spring in her step.

"Sorry for not saying in advance that I'll be back later than usual."

"Don't sweat it, Yui-chan already notified Komachi all about your little 'date'."

"It's not a date." He bluntly denied, patting her head as he passed by her. "Don't go blurting things out that may cause a misunderstanding."

"But you went out to eat with a beautiful girl, with just the two of you alone."

"Yeah, at a place where the number of customers was more or less twice the maximum capacity of the restaurant. So much for 'being alone'."

"Geez Onii-chan, you're such a killjoy. At this state you'll never get married in the future."

"I'll cross the bridge when I get there." Hachiman collapsed onto his seat on the sofa, his sister following to sit right next to him. "Besides, Komachi is with me here, and you're all I'll ever need."

"Uwaa, that sounded really creepy!" Komachi shuddered and backed away a little, shielding her chest with her arms. "Even more so when you'rethe one saying it, making that face and all! Sis-conii-chan!"

"Hey, don't say that. It seriously hurts, you know? Especially when I mustered all my courage to say that straight to you."

"Just joking. So, how'd it go? Did you have fun?" She clung onto his arm as if to shackle him to his seat, yanking on it several times in waiting for his response.

"If you count finally getting something to eat after a whole day in school, then yes."

"Be more serious with your answer!"

"Y-yes, sorry..."

Hachiman then told her all about what had happened as he recollected the events of today's "date", from the time he had skipped his lunch due to his encounter with Saika up to the time they had parted ways. When he had finished however, she didn't appear to be impressed with his story, not one bit.

"Mou, there was no development at all! And why didn't you drink from the same straw!?"

"Because that's unsanitary?"

"Onii-chan, you idiot! Can't you take a hint?" Komachi face-palmed in complete disbelief at his actions, though she had already expected at least that much of a reaction from him.

"Anyway, after that her mood sort of... changed."

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"Not sure but before we parted, she looked troubled." Hachiman scratched his head as he tried to recall what her face was like during those last few moments. "Well, I can't really tell for sure if she were, but that was what I was picking up anyway. I also asked if she wanted me to walk with her home but she turned me down."

"You should've asked her what the matter was."

"It's none of my business, and I don't like sticking my nose into things I shouldn't be involved with in the first place. The less you know, the less trouble you have to deal with."

A certain memory flashed in his mind, one where he walked alongside a hopeful girl on the streets during one summer night.

And only the moon bore witness to what had transpired on that fateful evening, as he struck at the roots of something without even giving it the chance to blossom.

"Besides, I'm not one to meddle in others' affairs unless it was like a formal request to the Service Club."

"Hou, is that so?" Komachi flashed a smirk as she thought of an idea. "Then what if I requested for it?"

"Hmm?"

"Please Onii-chan!" Komachi begged, her hands pressed together. "Please find out what happened to Yui-chan! And try to keep it to yourself since she may not want a lot of people asking about her problems."

"Hmm..."

"Ple~ase, you'll get a lot of Komachi points if you accept!"

"Alright, fine. How could I ever say no to that face..." Hachiman sighed in defeat, no longer able to resist her charms. "You sure know your way with bribery."

"Wow, when Yui-chan taught me how to do the 'puppy dog eyes' I didn't believe it would actually work! She's a genius!"

"She did what?"

"Ah!" Komachi placed her hands over her mouth. "Nevermind what I said, forget it! I was just thinking out aloud!"

"Well, whatever. I'll just see what I can do."

"Yay~ Thank you Onii-chan, you're the best! Ah, but don't let it all get to your head."

"Heh, I won't."

The two siblings shared a little more time together chatting before they had decided to call it a day and retired to their respective rooms. Komachi reminded him of his promise and expected positive results before she bid him a good night.

As Hachiman lied in bed waiting for the drowsiness to come knocking at his door, his mind started working on what he was tasked to do.

He was new to it after all, he never really cared much about others so he was left confused as to how to approach the topic. Normally at the Service Club, people would come to them and he would simply ask for the details since it was necessary to solving the issue. As for Iroha's case, it was more of his responsibility for putting all that work on her shoulders hence he opted to have his share of trouble.

But now that he was supposed to take the initiative, it felt entirely different.

"..."

Needless to say, he was clueless.

' _How exactly am I going to ask her about it in the first place?'_

He had considered dragging Yui somewhere private so he could talk to her alone, but the idea seemed embarrassing and near impossible to carry out for him. And if other students were to get sight of him doing just that, alerting the police wasn't far from happening.

However his promise to his dearest little sister was something he could not afford to break for the sis-con in him would not allow it, thus her will was absolute.

So Hachiman would have to find a way. It was nothing new, he always had to. Even if it meant diving right into the flames yet again.

' _Ah, this is such a drag.'_ He exhaled deeply, burying his face into his pillow to block the bright light from his eyes. All the thinking was tiring him out faster than he had expected, and soon he could feel the weariness dragging his consciousness away into the abyss of slumber.

One last thought he had in mind before he had completely drifted asleep was that he was grateful to Komachi for at least giving him a different reason – one he could tell Yui without hesitation – as to why he would be asking about her problem.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ _Is short, I know. But it's been three months, one week and three days since the last update so I had to let you guys know I'm still alive and plan on finishing this._

 _Thanks to_ _ **Pewdepew**_ _and_ _ **Betrayed Dreams**_ _for their opinions on this one, a big help to fix whatever I can before I do finally post it. It was from_ _ **Pewdepew**_ _(his story_ _ **A Rotten Duo**_ _) that I had the idea of Komachi being a messy eater, while_ _ **Betrayed Dreams**_ _gave the suggestion of the two sharing their food with each other (but I doubt Hachiman's heart is ready at this point to actually feed her directly lol)._

 _...Dammit, now I'm hungry._

 _And special thanks as well to_ _ **OmegaEleven**_ _, your words were truly helpful and for that I am grateful. While this was already written and done before the review, I shall keep in mind those points you mentioned. Thank you!_

 _I was planning on trying my hand at writing a one-shot centered on Yukino or Komachi (incest-themed but no smut or whatever), but this came out finished first after three months of grueling writing. So there you go._

 _With much love_ _for lolis_ _, TGWW._


	8. Cognitive Dissonance

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I don't own Oregairu._

* * *

He sat silently in his seat, feigning to be asleep as he usually would per his daily routine. However, none were barely aware that his rotten, half-lidded eyes had remained glued on a vacant seat from right across his own.

There were only a few minutes left before the school bell would ring to signal the start of the school day, yet Hachiman could have sworn that it had been two and a half eternities that had already passed as he had waited. What ran through his thoughts as he laid his head on his desk was that despite the vividness of this so-called "youth" that plagued Class 2-F every morning, today it seemed to be lacking a certain hue.

...a bright shade of _pink_ , to be exact.

Hachiman was never one to arrive to school quite early so whenever he did enter the classroom most of the students were already present, especially a girl under the name "Yuigahama Yui." And even with his best efforts to not attract attention as he slithered his way to his seat with head lowered, the girl would always, _always_ take notice of his presence at the precise moment he was nearest to her and greet him, as if she had been waiting specifically for him to pass by.

 _"Yahallo, Hikki!"_ Her voice would always chime with energy, causing him to pause and give her at least an obligatory "hey".

...that was, except for today.

There were still no signs of the vibrant girl to be seen and he was currently unsure on how to feel regarding her absence.

A sigh of relief left his mouth as he had yet to come up with a good way to inquire on what could possibly had been his fault that made her act strangely yesterday. He also felt somewhat sick to the stomach like he could throw up any minute, very similarly to how someone would be feeling whenever they were worr-

His thoughts were interrupted by the familiar sound of heels clacking against the floor from the hallway. Sitting up straight as he could, the bustling of the class died down to a low whispering murmur before the door slid open and revealed their teacher Hiratsuka-sensei. She strode towards center and front of the class and, after the daily exchange of greetings, started off homeroom period with an announcement.

"I'm afraid Yuigahama-san will not be able to join us for today. She is feeling unwell, so she had to take the day off."

Reactions of surprise at varying levels came from his fellow students, and while he had already foreseen such a possibility to be the most probable cause he could not help but be baffled still.

It _was_ quite the coincidence after all, he thought, that of all times Yui would be absent it really had to be today. In fact, if memory served him right, she never had taken a day off from class.

 _'How did it go again? "Idiots can't catch a cold?" Well, not like I know she_ did _catch one... err, wait. Did she?'_ He mused to himself, unaware of the teacher growing more irritated at each passing second he remained unresponsive. Besides being asked what her age or civil status was, nothing pissed Shizuka off more than a student not paying attention to her, especially a problematic one.

"HIKIGAYA-KUN!" She yelled for the third time, finally winning the attention of the boy who nearly jumped from his seat.

"Y-yes!" His voice cracked as he replied nervously, not wanting to incur her wrath so early. The teacher glared at him momentarily as a warning to fix himself before resuming the rest of the roll call.

 _'Haaa...'_ Hachiman relaxed as he sank down on his chair, glad to not have gotten off to a completely bad start. _'Even when she's not here, she still manages to get me in trouble...'_

* * *

The loner managed to stay awake until lunch period had arrived, though his mind had been wandering off since that he never did retain most of what had been discussed during the previous classes.

The school bell's chime echoing across campus broke his train of thought, pulling him back to reality where he remained anchored to his seat while the rest of the class were making their way to the cafeteria in groups. He decided to nab a quick bite himself such as some yakisoba bread that he could eat at his spot, but before he could leave an arm draped over his shoulder.

"Yo Hikitani-kun, 'sup?" Asked the culprit Tobe, pulling him over. "You sure look down, is something wrong?"

"No, nothing really." He responded monotonously. _'Unless we count you invading my personal space as one.'_

"Hey, come on! Don't be so cold. We're bros, right?"

"..."

"W-well, it's just that I noticed you were glancing at Yui-chan's desk for a while now, so..."

"Oh, for the love of-!" A girl cried out in frustration. Stomping her way to the two guys was none other than Yumiko, Hina following behind her. "Quit stalling and just cut to the chase!"

"Oho~ I think there's no need to rush them, Yumiko, ehehe..." Commented the bespectacled girl, an eerie vibe emanating from her weird smile.

"Anyway, we're not here just to chat for fun Hikio, tell us; what happened to Yui?!"

"Like I'd know." He broke free from Tobe, keeping himself at least two steps away from him and most importantly, the irate blonde. "And why are you even asking me anyway, you guys are friends, right?"

"Of course we are! I sent her a few mails but she didn't reply to me once, and when I tried calling her, she never picked up!"

"Actually, we know all about yesterday." Hina spoke up, giving the other girl a breather to cool her head. "Before, Yui had asked us where the two of you could go to eat, but we didn't really know what you liked so we couldn't give any good options... Anyway, all we know is you were the one she was with last. Do you really not know anything? It's not like her to not reply at all, so we can't help but grow worried..."

One surprise after another it seemed, Hachiman processed her words and drew a long sigh. While he himself didn't have many friends, he could tell from observing others that these were somehow good ones.

"We left club early, she and I walked around looking for a place to eat." He explained, all three lending their ears. "When we did, we ordered some food, sat down and ate. We talked a bit, both of us had a few... difficulties with our meals." Hachiman blushed at the memory, rousing the suspicion of Yui's friends.

"W-w-what's with that completely perverted reaction!?" Yumiko stammered.

"Perverted?! Hikitani-kun, take responsibility!" Tobe added, grabbing him by the shoulders.

"Uwaa, it sounds like a real-life rom-com development!" Hina squealed in delight. "I want details!"

"Anyway..." He cleared his throat, ignoring the outburst from his audience, "after that was when I noticed she was acting like something was... off. I did ask her about it, but she brushed it off as 'nothing' so I didn't press her any further. I offered to walk with her home as well but she declined too, and that's about it."

The three looked at each other, wordless communication transpiring from what Hachiman could tell with the looks on their faces.

"Ugh, what a waste of breath." Yumiko face-palmed herself.

 _'This ungrateful, little...'_

"You know, if you're that disappointed with my response then you _could_ have just gone and asked Hiratsuka-sensei yourself, since Yuigahama _did_ contact her to excuse herself for today." He suggested. The three fell dead silent until a few seconds passed, Tobe finally blurted something out.

"Why didn't _I_ think of that!?" He rhetorically asked in sheer disbelief.

"Umm, you probably _couldn't_ have thought of that though." Hina teased.

"D-don't be so mean to me, Hina-chan!"

"Enough fooling around!" Yumiko interrupted. "I'm getting hungry, but I'm not quite done here yet so you two can go ahead. I'll catch up with you guys after this." The leader of the pack commanded. The two obediently did as they were told and bid farewell to the loner, exiting the room. "And _you_ , Hikio!"

"Hmm?" He wondered just what verbal abuse this girl still had left in store as she glared at him eye to eye.

"T-t-t... T-t-!" He wasn't sure if she was fighting the urge to lash at him hence the stuttering. Her fists clenched as she steeled herself, breathing in deep to finally give what was due:

"...t-thanks."

The word fell from her lips as softly as possible before she made a quick dash for the door. Hachiman was stunned, watching the girl leave him behind, rushing off without a moment to spare all to avoid having her blushing face be seen.

Alone once more he set off towards the school cafeteria to grab a bite, one word echoing within the recesses of his mind:

 _'Tsundere.'_

* * *

"Ah Hikigaya-kun, do you have a minute?" Shizuka walked over to the loner who was still in the middle of packing his things, getting ready to leave as the day had ended.

"Umm... I guess?" He answered uncertainly, thinking there may not really be a choice with this woman.

"Good, come with me to the teachers' lounge. I need another favor from you."

"I'm not going to be tutoring a 'certain someone' again, am I Sensei?"

"Well, no." She smiled at his hunch. "Though this _does_ have something to do with a... 'certain someone' of yours."

"...I get it." He sighed, slinging his bag over to his shoulder as he lazily slouched. "Lead the way."

Their trip wasn't a pleasant one as he thought of just what this woman had planned for him. And not only that, it too involved Yui, someone that he wasn't quite fully prepared to deal with at the moment.

' _To think I've managed to put it on hold for today... What rotten luck.'_

He was also well-aware just how impossible it was to oppose her so he had decided to resign himself at her mercy.

Then again, at least this way he both had a way and a reason to contact her and, if things flowed well which he doubted would be easy, confront her about the incident that had occurred the day before. Then his mind could finally be at peace…

No. Absolutely wrong. It was all so he could finally fulfill his promise to his little sister, nothing more and nothing less.

The familiar smell of newly printed paper, brewed coffee and a hint of cigarette smoke permeated his nose as Shizuka slid open the door to the lounge, motioning Hachiman to wait for her by the counselling table as she fetched a few things. He sat down, mind drifting back to the memory he was last in this place.

He had been in trouble then, and it too was all because of that pink-haired girl. Shizuka was a bit angrier at that time and he had narrowly escaped getting hurt, so today the odds of leaving unscathed were pretty higher.

...wait, wasn't there even a law against teachers harming students?

"Sorry to have made you wait." She returned, holding in her hand a brown folder. Handing it over to him Hachiman skimmed the contents, which were photocopies of the notes for today's lessons fastened tightly together with a bull clip.

"You... want me to have these?" He asked sarcastically just to break the silence, flipping the pages one by one. "If so, I have to respectfully decline. I know I may not appear the attentive type in class but I've written everythi-"

"It's for Yuigahama-san." Shizuka butted in, completely cutting him off back to quietude. "It's pretty obvious what else you have to do, right? You're not her per se, so I don't have to spell it out for you."

"Why me though? I mean, didn't one of her friends earlier ask you why she's not present today? You could've just as easily given them this task after class."

"Yeah, but I forgot to ask them at that time." She retorted, not putting any effort to sound convincing at all.

"But still, why me then? Isn't there anyone else, such as Yukinoshita for example?"

"She's currently in-charge of the Service Club, which I doubt _you_ would be able to handle alone better in her stead. Besides, didn't you say it yourself before when we had a talk? That you, and I quote your words, 'had no choice since you're in the same club'? And because it was _my_ doing that you're a member, wouldn't you say that with that logic that you have no choice on this as well since I'm tasking you to do it?"

"Urk..." The annoyance in her voice made the boy reel back. Another wrong step could have very well spelled pain for him so he did the smartest thing he could think of and smiled. "A-alright then..."

"Good. I'm glad we've come to a compromise, Hikigaya-kun." She stood up and pulled out a stick of cigarette, lighting it and taking a long drag. "I knew I could count on you, you're such a reliable guy."

"Yeah..." He muttered, standing up. "Well, if that's all you need me for, I'm off."

Hachiman began on his journey towards the apartment complex, hoping memory served him correctly as he had escorted Yui home before. It was far too late to turn back, and Shizuka wouldn't like it if she found out.

' _I guess I can just go there, drop it off and leave. I can just come up with an excuse for Komachi when I get home.'_

Going up the flight of stairs and turning at a corridor, he was soon faced with a door marked with the slate displaying the room number at the side. He stared at it for one good minute before he took one deep breath.

' _Here goes nothing.'_

His finger reached for the doorbell and it gave out a muffled buzz from the other side. Just as he was about to ring it a second time, he heard someone from inside respond as the sound of rushed footsteps drew closer. The pitch of her voice was unmistakable, letting him identify the speaker even before the door swung open.

The girl known as Yuigahama Yui dressed in wrinkled, baby blue pajamas with her unkempt bed hair now stood before him, clearly shocked to find him of all people at her doorstep. She rubbed her eyes and blinked, only to see the boy still there.

"H-Hikki?!" Yui yelped in surprise, suddenly feeling conscious of her appearance so she closed the door just enough so that only a fraction of her blushing face was revealed.

"Yo." he greeted with the usual lackluster manner.

"W-what are you doing here?"

"Hiratsuka-sensei asked me to bring you these." He then produced a folder from his bag and showed it to her. "It's a copy of today's lessons, she had them copied and collected here for you."

"O-oh, that's... Thank you." She said with a small smile. After completing his primary objective by handing the materials to her through the small gap, the two fell into an awkward silence. Both avoided each other's gaze as they tried to find something else to keep their eyes on.

"Anyway, that's all I came here for, so..." Hachiman finally said, finding her situation for today to be unsuitable for any sort of confrontation. "I'll be leaving."

"W-w-wait!"

The door swung wide open as Yui reached out for him, successfully holding onto his right arm's sleeve and stopping him from taking one step further.

"U-umm!" The girl nervously spoke while her grip remained firm on his clothing. "Y-you see, it'd be rude if I made you come all the way here without showing a bit of hospitality, y'know? M-maybe I could invite you inside a-and get you some tea first?"

Hachiman could have just declined the offer right then and there and went straight on his way home to call it a day, but the look in her eyes made it nigh impossible to mutter the words. He also didn't expect the gesture as he thought he had done something that may have displeased her back then.

He scratched his head, unable to think of a good enough alibi that could save him from the guilt he knew would plague him if he were to let this opportunity pass. His dear sister Komachi would be quite disappointed if she ever found out about it, and he knew well she and Yui had good communication from what he had observed recently so she would definitely get wind of this.

"Okay I guess."

"R-really?"

Her eyes shone brightly at his positive response, furthering his confusion as to what truly occurred for her to act differently before and if he really were at fault. It seemed Yui was indeed just like most girls, albeit much less complex on most occasions.

As the girl excused herself for a moment to fix her appearance, the door once again opened to grant him passage. Reluctance made his first step heavy, but once he had laid his foot down on the interior of the house it had been decided.

"Sorry for intruding."

* * *

Yui struggled to prepare tea and snacks for her surprise visitor with what little concentration she had left. She was nervous, not with the fact that she had someone over and was currently waiting for her return, rather she had invited Hachiman into her room of all people.

And to make matters worse (or better), her mother was out of the house at the moment and would return late. Thus, they had the place all for themselves.

"Ah-!"

The tea within the cup spilled on the table as she stirred a bit too strongly. Quickly she took some paper towels and wiped the mess, all the while trying to calm herself down.

' _I-I mean, it's not like something's going to happen… right?'_ She asked herself, only causing her to grow more unsettled as her imagination began to explore various scenarios. _'Hikki isn't that_ _kind of guy and I trust him, so…'_

The girl shook her head free of thoughts impure. There was no way, _no way_ something would ever happen between him and her. Hachiman was pretty different from most guys she knew, even to the point of being called an herbivore by some due to his passivity. Besides, it was far too early in their current stage of relationship to attempt at such an act, and today's kind of…

Not wanting to keep him waiting for too long Yui finished cleaning up and took the tray with refreshments to her room, where Hachiman quietly sat in the middle of the floor where she last left him.

"Sorry for taking so long," she placed the tray down on the low table and sat across him. "I made a bit of a mess so it took a while."

"Ah, it's fine." He reached for one of the cups and gently blew on the tea. "Sorry for making you go out of your way to prepare these, especially when you're not feeling well."

"No, no, it's totally fine, I don't mind at all. I was actually feeling really bored so it was nice to have someone for company."

"Okay then. Thanks."

"Yup, don't mention it."

"Alright."

Hachiman having nothing else to say took a few sips of his tea and expressed his satisfaction with a low hum before silence befell the room.

Yui too was at a loss for words, her eyes darting around the place trying to come up with something, anything to talk about. It wasn't like her to be quiet as she had always been the one to strike a conversation, but since today her mind and body weren't in the best condition that wasn't the case.

"U-umm, thanks again for bringing me those." She gestured over to the folder she put aside on her desk which he had brought with him. "I really appreciate you going out of your way just to deliver those."

"Ah, don't mention it. It was actually Hiratsuka-sensei's doing, I was just her pack mule of sort. You should go give her your thanks too once you get back to school."

"I-I see…" Something about the act of goodwill not being one of his own volition felt like a letdown. Had she always viewed him in such a positive light? Perhaps she _had_ been overestimating him…

"By the way," Hachiman set his cup down on the table and sat up straight. "About yesterday…"

"H-huh?" Yui tensed as he trailed off. "W-what about it?"

"I just… I dunno, I'm sorry I guess." He looked down and sighed, not really knowing how to say it properly since he himself had no clear idea on what happened. "I don't know why, but yesterday before we parted you felt off for some reason. And since I was the only person with you at that time then it'd be safe to say that I was more or less the cause of it so… I'm sorry."

Initially she was shocked at his apology, but recalling the events that had transpired that day caused her cheeks to grow red.

"N-no, don't be! It's not your fault, and you shouldn't be saying sorry if you don't know what you did in the first place, it makes it sound so half-hearted!"

"Well, why then? Because if you do say it wasn't me, then what _was_ the reason?"

"H-huh?! That's-"

The girl stopped as she couldn't decide how to put into words what she felt at that time. Hachiman's eyes were still fixed on her, wanting to pry an answer out of her.

"That's what?"

"That's…" She blushed even more as she realized she had to confess, lowering her head to hide her crimson face. "L-let's just say that it's something high school girls experience at their age…"

"Like what?"

With the room being as quiet as can be Yui feared he could hear her heart's loud beating. As much as she wanted to tell it to him straight, today wasn't the best time and place to answer his question and unveiling the truth was embarrassing on its own.

In fact, she couldn't quite think of any decent time and place for such a confession.

' _Still, if he's so worried about it, I guess I should just let him know,' s_ he thought, putting his feelings into account. It was a rare occasion for Hachiman to care about anything else than his own sake.

Hachiman, on the other hand felt very nervous as well. He was still unaware of what he might have done, and while Yui did give him the time of day there was no telling what it could be given his low experience with socializing.

Was he _that_ bad with social interactions, that not even the everyday exchanges with his sister could prove to be of any use? And if ever her answer were to be something very disappointing, how would he tell Komachi without so much as upsetting her?

"…od."

"Huh?" His head shot up at the faint sound of her voice, finding Yui still with her head hung low. "What was that?"

"I-I said… I had my p-p-period!" Yui yelled, making sure he could hear her since she could've died of shame if she had to say it a third time. "My tummy suddenly hurt and it was really uncomfortable! I-I also had to buy something at a convenience store a-a-and I didn't want you to see me buying them!"

Her little outburst made her words take time before they completely sunk into Hachiman's mind, leaving a quiet and awkward mood for the both of them afterwards.

"That's… what happened," the girl wiped some of her tears away, unable to see him eye-to-eye. "So it's not your fault, okay?"

"Y-yeah…" He muttered, unsure of what else to say to her. "Sorry."

"I thought I already told you it wasn't your fault!?"

"You did, but I mean… that was kinda embarrassing, wasn't it? I mean, whenever I take out the trash and see… 'that' in there, Komachi gets furious at me. Heh." He chuckled at a short recollection of his first time seeing one in person, and his baby sister's face after the little discovery.

"That's really mean, y'know. We try our best to hide it, and not only do you look at your baby sister's, you even made me say it!"

"Wait, how was it even my fault? She didn't even bother covering it with other trash and just placed it on top in plain view. And you should have come up with a better way of telling me than outright admitting it." He crossed his arms defiantly. "As I see it, _I'm_ the victim here."

"U-umm… H-Hikki you dummy!" Yui cried out in defeat. Strangely enough they both ended up laughing the whole predicament off and the mood eased up to a warmer, more enjoyable one.

"Still, you should be mindful of us girls. There are things we don't want boys to ever see, even if they already know about it."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm sorry." He raised his hand as if taking an oath. "I promise to be more careful next time."

"Well, if you're _really_ sorry then you have to show just how repentant you truly are."

"I'm surprised you even know such a big word. And what do you have in mind? I'll have you know I am pretty good at groveling, you can even say that dogeza is nothing but second nature to me."

"Alright then! Hikki, as punishment, from now on I want you to call me by my given name."

"…huh?"

"What?" Yui raised an eyebrow. "Is something wrong with it?"

"…no, not really. It's just that… are you sure about this?"

"Of course I am."

"You sure are enjoying this. Are all girls sadists?" Hachiman sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "Well, whatever. Fine then."

"Try it, call me by my given name right now!"

"Y-yeah, sure."

He saw the expectant glimmer in her eyes and decided it best to avoid them, looking away. It was the first time he had to call someone other than family by their given name and it felt alien.

Still, he had nothing to lose, and he did have her do something that was at the very least equally embarrassing.

"Y-Y-Yui…" He near-whispered, but his soft voice reached her eager ears nonetheless.

"Great job Hikki! Hehe~" The girl smiled triumphantly at her success and gave him a thumbs-up. "See? It wasn't so hard now, was it?"

"Hey, wait a minute, that's unfair. How come I have to call you by your given name when you still refer to me with that horrendous nickname?"

"Eh? This is this and that is that."

"But it'll be weird if you don't return the favor you know. It'll make me look like I'm some kind of person who likes to act all chummy and friendly."

"Y-you do have a point…" Yui gave it a brief moment of thought then sighed. "Alright, I guess it's only fair."

"Well? I'm waiting for it."

"Waiting for what?"

"For you to call me by my given name too, duh."

"Eh? L-like, now?"

"Of course."

He just grinned as the girl appeared flustered, yet somewhere in him he too felt a bit of nervousness.

"Here goes then…" She began to fidget her fingers, hoping to reduce the restlessness stirring within her. The bright blushing of her face went unnoticed to her as she was too preoccupied, but he took note of it and enjoyed the struggle the girl was undergoing.

He would have been a great girl he thought, considering how much of a sadist he could be as well.

She closed her eyes and pressed her lips together as if trying to keep the word from escaping her mouth, but what was warranted soon had to be given as it grew longer due.

With a voice tinged with sweetness and innocence, coy and pure she sang his name in a way that could tug at the heartstrings of even the coldest people.

"H-H-Hachi…man…"

Yui fought the urge to shiver as a chill rushed down her spine like a bucket of ice-cold water had been splashed over her while the burning of her cheeks rose towards her ears. This was definitely _not_ how she had daydreamt this scenario to play out.

Once her heart had reduced its rapid, incessant beating into a slower pace, she opened her eyes to find that even the boy before her could not resist to blush at such an occasion. Seeing his emotions from his reaction usually devoid of them brought about a sense of fulfillment, she couldn't help but crack a smile knowing she pulled it off well.

"There, now we're even!"

* * *

Not wanting to trouble the recovering girl any further with his presence and not to overstay his welcome, Hachiman deemed it was already time for his departure shortly after their relationship's step forward. She once again thanked him for taking time out of his schedule to swing by her place while he thanked her for the hospitality.

"So will you be coming to school tomorrow?" He asked as he put on his shoes on his way out.

"Yup. I'm feeling a lot more better than earlier, so I'll be back in class." She responded much livelier than before, just like how he knew her to be.

"That's good to hear then." He remarked, slinging his bag over his shoulder and opening the door. "I'll be off now."

"Okay, take care."

She watched his back as he walked along the corridor and headed towards the stairs when he suddenly stopped and turned to look at her.

"See you tomorrow then, umm… Yui." Her name still felt foreign to the tongue.

"Ah-!" She hopped out the door and waved him goodbye with a wide smile. "Y-yes! See you tomorrow as well H-Hachiman!"

"Ah, what a lovely display of youth~!"

"Wha-!"

The two were surprised to hear someone else's voice, looking in front of him Hachiman found Yui's mother standing there, a hand on her cheek and a smug grin on her face.

"Ah, g-good evening Yuigahama-san…" Hachiman bowed slightly.

"Yes, this evening seems to be a pretty good one." She giggled. "Already on a given name-basis, are we? It looks like you two had lots of fun while I was away."

"W-well, that's not entirely false, although it seems what you're implying as 'having fun' may be different from what I have in mind…"

"M-Mama!" Yui yelled frantically.

"Yes, yes. I won't meddle anymore between you two." She dismissed her cries with a wave of her hand. "I just want to tell you that you have my blessings dear." She whispered as she winked at the boy.

"U-umm, thanks..?" He replied uncertainly.

"Well now, do be on your way, and take care."

When the older woman bid him goodbye and went to console her daughter, Hachiman finally headed home where someone had been eagerly waiting for his arrival.

"Onii-chan, welcome back!" Greeted Komachi.

"I'm home."

"So, how it'd go? C'mon, tell me!" She urged, yanking at his arm towards the living room.

"You sure don't beat around the bush, huh?"

"Of course, this is important!"

"Alright, let me settle down first and I'll tell you all about it."

Hachiman then told Komachi what happened, from how he was given the errand by Hiratsuka-sensei to the unexpected encounter with her mother as he was leaving, and how he had been overthinking things since yesterday regarding the girl.

While his sister wasn't all too pleased with how he had made her admit something uncomfortable for girls to discuss about, she was happy to hear that they were now calling each other by their given names.

"So does it mean you two are going out?"

"Huh? Of course not. It was a form of punishment after all, nothing more, nothing less." He said matter-of-factly

"Geez Onii-chan, you're no fun at all!" Komachi complained, bummed by his answer. "How can you treat it so lightly? Don't you know how important it is between two friends to start addressing each other like that?"

"Well, it sure does beat her calling me 'Hikki', so there's that at least."

"This is why you still don't have a girlfriend." She said deadpan.

"Hey, that's harsh. And besides, I don't need a girlfriend, Komachi is all I need."

"Eww, gross. Get away from me, you siscon." She shoved her brother away playfully. "Still, you should treat her better. Don't take her kindness for granted."

Kindness.

Somehow, the word always brought a strange sense of dread to him, a feeling born from back in middle school.

Laughter, whispers, eyes seething with scorn and mockery.

He grew dizzy, as if the world around him was spinning nonstop. His dinner churned in his stomach and threatened to escape his mouth.

"Anyway, I'll take care of the dishes, you should go and get some rest Onii-chan."

Komachi left him to tend to her chores while Hachiman absentmindedly went up to his room and changed his clothes. He then laid on his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling with his mind still stuck in recollection.

A girl, short and wavy hair, brown eyes, a lively personality...

A huge misunderstanding.

It started from something so simple, and from there it took root and sprouted into a massive masked lie that later blew up in his face and destroyed every last shred of hope he had. In the end, he had no one else to blame but himself for being so gullible and vulnerable, for being so easily swayed with just a little attention thrown at him.

Events from earlier began flooding into his mind, his sweet exchange with a certain girl, the short time spent with her that he refused to admit he enjoyed every minute of, the strange feeling that rose from his chest that now resembled something sinister from the past.

As much as he hated it, he couldn't deny that a part of him was indeed happy, though it was easily overshadowed by the overwhelming fear of betrayal.

' _Still…'_

A glimmer of hope remained, and with it flashed in his mind the image of a girl with pink hair, smiling at him like always. It was strange how she could blend in so easily with the crowd but she still stood out in his eyes like a sore thumb.

She was similar to the girl from the past, yet she too felt somewhat different. It was complex to describe, as if it were something that was never meant to be put into words.

' _Maybe, just maybe…'_

This time could be different.

As the saying goes, "the only constant thing in this world is 'change'."

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ _I have been gone for a long time. Life has been very taxing as of late and I must admit that I have not touched this story for quite a while, hence if this chapter was executed poorly then I do apologize for the rustiness of my writing. I also don't know if most of you are still looking forward to this update given the time that had passed since the previous chapter, but if not then here you go._

 _And of course, I am truly thankful for the reviews and favorites/follows that I am still receiving, both for this and the other stories I've written. It means a lot that I may be inactive yet I and my stories still receive some attention. You are awesome._

 _As for the "Komachi incest" story, II've written what could pass off as drabble at most given its length, but it isn't really "lemony" enough (quite contrary to my initial decision not to put in smut). I still have much work to do on that, may even have to rewrite most of it just to accommodate the changes I'll make in the future._

 _This fandom doesn't have enough love for that pairing._

 _Lastly, work and life balance as of recent has been very tough and I find myself having little to no free time to even do much, let alone write. Thus, unless struck with a spark of motivation, updates will be slow._

 _That's all from me, 'til next time._


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